


You Came Back

by DorkSeverus04



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Dumb Decisions, Eventual Fluff, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Blackmail, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, lies and mistrust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2020-04-07 03:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 68,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19076386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorkSeverus04/pseuds/DorkSeverus04
Summary: Five years after graduation is a long time to suffer alone. Lies can hurt friends. Trust needs to be rebuilt. But most importantly, can they forgive themselves after a misunderstanding?





	1. Prologue

_Five Years before_

"…And that is all for today's meeting." An old man folded his hands together, looking around the meeting room. "Are there any questions?"

"I have a few questions, Jacques." Another old man raised his hand and looked at Jacques. "About your daughter, Weiss. Will she be ready for this line of work, considering she hasn't been to these meetings to understand how to run the company?"

"I assure you that Weiss will understand how to run the SDC as efficiently as I have." Jacques said confidently, hiding his uncertainty.

Even he was unsure if his daughter would be able to, considering she was still chasing this fantasy of make believe and fighting Grimm in Vale. There was nothing more he wanted than to drag her childish ass back to Atlas and marry her to one of the sons of a profitable company. She was due to graduate from that academy within a month. It was only a matter of time before he dragged her back home.

"If you don't mind me saying, your son, Whitley, is a better candidate to take over the SDC." Another man huffed, looking towards the door as a young man walked in. "Speak of the devil, here he is."

"Whitley, can you not see that I'm in a meeting right now?" Jacques frowned at his son, feeling ashamed that he walked in unannounced like this.

"My apologies, father. However, this is important news." Whitley frowned. "Those degenerates, the White Fang, sent a request to have a meeting. Again."

Jacques grunted and shook his head. "Reject it as usual. There is no way a Schnee would ever be connected with those murderers. I don't see why you had the need to ask me this, Whitley."

"Father, in the letter, it stated that we need to reject them directly this time." Whitley frowned, not liking the letter as he gave it to his father.

"What?" Jacques took the letter and read it.

_SDC_

_We wish to have a meeting to discuss the relationship between the Faunus and the SDC._

_If you wish to reject us as usual, do so in person instead of being the cowardly jerk that you are, hiding behind our friends and family and your worthless money._

_WF_

"These fools think that they can scare me? How preposterous." Jacques scoffed as he crumpled the letter, turning his attention back towards the board members. "Now back to more important matte—"

_BOOM_

The room exploded. Shouts of confusion were heard.

Seconds later, Jacques groaned as he tried to move but was caught under some rubble.

"Where am I…?" He coughed, looking around. There was a hole in the center of the room. Everything was darkened and he didn't know where half the board members were. "Whitley…?" Jacques looked for his son, seeing him just laying on his side, blood dripping from his head.

"Mr. Schnee!" A young man grunted as he moved the rubble out of the way. "Are you alright?! We need to get out of here now!" He looked around and saw Whitley, quickly moving towards him and carefully cradling him in his arms.

"What is going on? Your _job_ was to keep me safe, and keep those filthy, good for nothing degenerates out of here!" Jacques growled as he stumbled to his feet, holding his head. He didn't know what caused the explosion, but he assumed it was the White Fang, considering the letter he just received. The timing was too much of a coincidence for him to think otherwise. "Were you sleeping on the job?!"

"Maybe if you didn't constantly rush us, we would've done a more thorough job!" The first man growled back, hating his job, and groaned when he was shot through his abdomen. "Shit!"

The ground gave out and the man stumbled against the wall. Jacques wasn't any better and fell against more rubble, almost falling down the hole in the center of the room.

"Don't just stand there! Save me, you insolent fool!" Jacques ordered.

"Oh shut up! You don't under—"

_BOOM_

Another explosion. The ground shook and gave way, causing the floor to collapse beneath them.

"NO!"

_______________________________________

"…are there any more survivors?" A firefighter looked around for any survivors. So far they only found a few dozen that had minor injuries, which was a miracle considering the state of the building. A handful had more major injuries and were immediately sent to the hospital, though news came that a couple of them didn't make it on the way. The rest were confirmed dead.

"Not that I can see. But keep looking!" another firefighter huffed, moving rubble carefully and frowning at what he saw. "Come look at this."

The first firefighter moved towards where he was called and shook his head. "We need to contact the hospital. Jacques Schnee is dead. Good riddance, I'd say."

_______________________________________

"How many board members are left?" a man huffed, looking at some paperwork before looking up at his assistant.

"Just four." She looked at her notes. "Jacques Schnee is dead… All others are still unconscious, but they should be awake within a few days."

"What about Whitley? Willow? Can any Schnee lead the SDC?"

"Whitley is unconscious as well. From what I heard, he's in a coma and likely won't be awake for a long time. As for Willow… she's missing. No one knows where she is."

The man sighed deeply. "With Jacques dead, Whitley being in the hospital due to a coma, and Willow missing..." The man shook his head. "We have no choice but to call for Winter or Weiss to take over the SDC." He then looked at his assistant. "Do whatever it takes to bring them back."


	2. The Start

_Present day_

"Yang, you're worrying too much! This mission is gonna be a piece of cake!" Ruby grinned as she walked through the forest, leading the way towards the mission site with a skip to her step.

"I'm not worrying, Ruby! It's **** that's worrying!" Yang laughed as she held her hands behind her head, grinning at the empty space next to her.

Ruby laughed nervously and looked at an empty space. "Are you worried, ****? It's just like any old mission that we do together."

Sounds of music chimes came from the empty space she was looking at, and Yang just laughed.

"You _are_ worried! Don't even try to deny that!"

"If we're done bickering, we're here." Blake nodded towards the sky.

"Alright, ladies. Remember the plan." Ruby pulled out her weapon, readying herself for the fight.

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Yang grinned, setting her gauntlets to active mode.

Blake nodded and pulled out her weapon. "If we see a Deathstalker, send a signal to regroup."

Music chimes resonated in the air once again and everyone readied themselves to be launched into the air.

"Three Nevermore to the left, another two on the right. We can take care of this easy!" Blake flicked her ears, listening to the sound of the Grimm.

"Ready? Let's go!" Ruby cheered, she was about to attack but felt air below her feet, and not the solid platform she expected.

Wait, solid platform? There's no such thing, so why? Ruby looked at the ground and shot at it to slow her fall and backflipped onto the ground, panting heavily. How did she get that high in the air again? She rubbed her head. Oh no, not again. Ruby held her head, trying to remember where she was and what she was doing.

Right. She was on a mission with Yang and Blake to defeat a few Beowolves and Ursas. Yang didn't want her to fight Deathstalkers and Nevermores just yet because of her condition. They were talking about what to do after the mission was finished. Feeling bored, she was thinking about the mission then… her body went on autopilot. Again.

"Yang's gonna kill me once she finds me…" she sighed as she started walking back towards the original site.

_"Ruby! Behind you!"_

Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked back and saw a Nevermore flying towards her.

"Shit!" Ruby started to run. Maybe Yang was right. She needed to have a leash or something to keep her near the team.

She ran through the forest, panting heavily as she swung her weapon, hooking it onto the tree branch and using it to swing herself forward, shooting at the air to propel herself as she glanced back at the Nevermore chasing her.

Maybe she should've taken her teammates' advice and always carry a bell or something on her before going off on a mission, so people knew if she was wandering off on her own again and not trying to fight something that she couldn't.

Ruby pointed her weapon at the Grimm and shot at it, propelling herself towards the ground. She couldn't fight it in the air after all, and she probably wouldn't be able to fight it on the ground either.

Regretting her choice, she started to run again, using her semblance to speed away. She was most likely going to be yelled at once she finished this mission alive, but she didn't care right now. She was wondering why her body just reacted when she saw the Nevermore.

_"Nevermore coming in on your left! Jump!"_

Her body just moved as the voice told her and shot at the Nevermore. When she heard it cry out in pain, she was surprised that she was able to know where some Grimm were positioned sometimes, thanks to that voice she keeps hearing.

She grunted when she collided with a tree, and grumbled about how the voice helped her avoid Grimm attacks but not other solid objects. She looked up in time to see the Nevermore diving at her again. Ruby jumped down towards the ground and started running, hoping that the trees would at least slow it down while she found the others.

Her mind thought back of what happened earlier. She felt that she should be running on platforms in the skies, but that made no sense. There was no way that it was even possible, but she imagined what it was like. How much easier it would be to fight in the air. Just a split second platform to readjust her positioning… Not just flailing in the sky and using her weapon to propel herself to avoid a harsh meeting with the ground multiple times.

"Ruby!"

She glanced up and saw a blonde woman running towards her quickly, using her gauntlets to propel herself forward to reach her faster.

"Are you ok?!"

"Yang, I…" Ruby frowned then looked back when she heard the Nevermore screech at them, causing them to flinch from the harsh sound.

"I'll yell at you later. We need to kill this Grimm first." Yang growled, punching her fists together.

Ruby frowned, knowing why she was irritated and didn't blame her.

Whenever they went out on missions, it was always like this. Ruby tried to stick with her teammates and their plans, but she hears this… voice calling her, and her body just reacts. She wanders off then she fights the Grimm on her own, but at the same time, she has this feeling that someone was watching her back. Helping her fight off these Grimm.

She tried to think of who it was, but her heart ached each time. Just who was this mysterious person that she doesn't know?

"Ruby!" Yang shouted at her and snapped her out of her thoughts.

She looked up in time to see that she almost ran into a tree and dodged it, looking off to the side and using her weapon to shoot the air to propel herself towards a Beowolf that was about to attack Yang.

"Two more behind you!" Yang shot the ground to propel herself towards her sister and punched the Beowolf that came near Ruby and shot at the second.

"Ruby, let's go!"

__________________________________________

_After the battle_

"We… We got them all…" Ruby panted, leaning onto her weapon to catch her breath before stroking it and folding it into its compact mode.

Yang huffed as she looked towards her partner who came on time to help, as well as four others.

"Thanks, Blake… and thanks, Jaune. I didn't know your team was close by." Yang was grateful and rolled her shoulders.

"Don't worry about it. She did it again… didn't she?" Jaune frowned as he looked towards Ruby, who was looking off at the sky as if she was studying something.

"Yeah." Yang clenched her fists. She was trying to stay calm and not repeat the usual speech again.

Blake frowned and took her partner's hand in a weak attempt to calm her down. "Yang. It's muscle memory. We all have it. You can't blame Ruby. Or _her_." She gave Yang's hand a firm but gentle squeeze, one to let her know that she's still there if she needed someone to talk to.

"You… can't convince her to come back. Can you?" Jaune looked at them worriedly, hating how his closest friends were hurting like this.

"She doesn't give a damn, so why should I?" Yang spat out, hurt clear in her voice as she tore her hand away from Blake's hand, starting to walk towards her sister. "Ruby, it's time to go home."

"What? Oh yeah…" Ruby put on her hood and followed after Yang with her head down, afraid of what she'll say once they're out of earshot of the others.

Blake folded her cat ears, hating to see the sisters acting like this. It's been five years since everything changed like this, and she found it harder and harder to stay away from them until something was resolved.

"…It's my fault. I'm sorry." Jaune sighed, hanging his head low.

"Jaune, we've been over this. No one's here to blame." Blake placed a reassuring hand onto his shoulder.

"If anything, it should be my fault." A red-haired woman spoke up as she held onto Jaune's hand. "If only I had the courage to confess to him earlier… your team wouldn't have fallen apart as they are now." She sighed as she shook her head and looked up when Jaune spoke.

"No, Pyrrha. It's my fault. I was so… thick-headed and came up with _that_ plan for Ruby. It just made things worse." He sighed as Pyrrha held onto his hand. "I thought that I would be helping them. But it turned out like _this_. Weiss is gone and Ruby lost most of her memories from _that_ fight…"

"Jaune. Please. It's no one's fault. Let's just… go back before Yang loses it again." Blake quickly ran towards her team, not sure of what to think about their circumstances.

"But if I had noticed earlier and didn't come up with that stupid plan, Weiss would've still been here… or at least still on good terms with everyone." Jaune stated quietly as he watched Blake following after Ruby and Yang.

Pyrrha just shook her head and kissed his cheek. "It's not your fault, Jaune. Let's go. Before it gets dark. Everything will be alright soon enough. You'll see."

"Right." A tear fell from his eye as he wiped it away, still feeling guilty for what happened with his friends. "I just hope so…" He looked at Pyrrha then at the direction that RBY left. "For their sake."

_____________________________________________

_In Atlas_

Weiss Schnee sighed deeply as she looked out the window, staring at the buildings down below her as she fiddled with her red scarf and looked at the white cloak that was hanging near her. She thought that it was about time to go on another hunt, so she walked towards her seat and sat down to call for her assistant, though seeing no need when the amber-haired woman walked in.

"Ms. Schnee. The reports are ready to be reviewed." She then set a few stacks of paper onto the desk. "I also have your coffee ready. Do you need anything else?"

"Thank you, Amber." Weiss sighed as she leaned back in her chair, stretching and looking at the reports. "Do you… have the reports on the usual people in Vale?"

Amber nodded as she set those files on the opposite side of the reports. "Are you… actually going to check them this time?"

She was about to reach for the files but her hand shook. She held onto her hand to stop it from shaking and pulled back.

"You still can't look at the files, Weiss?" The duo looked towards the side and saw an older woman sitting on the couch.

"Winter…" Weiss frowned. "How long have you been there?"

"For a while. You were too focused on your work and own thoughts to even notice me." Winter sipped her coffee then placed the cup down. "And Flame noticed me earlier, but I asked him not to say anything."

Weiss turned towards her bodyguard, who was leaning against the wall not too far from her, who just shrugged.

"I know that they're more than capable of taking care of themselves, so I don't need to look at the files." Weiss quickly came up with an excuse and switched over to look at the reports from work, looking them over before setting it aside and grabbing another file, comparing the two together.

Winter frowned. "After Yang came here two years ago, you've asked for monthly reports on your team. Yet, you've never once _touched_ any of the files on them. In their own way, they still care about you, Weiss. Just as you care about them."

"Ruby's doing just fine without me. She has Jaune after all." Weiss put one file down, writing the report onto the computer before moving onto the next file. "And she recovered from that battle five years ago. Yang said so."

_Ruby doesn't need me._

"Then why is your hand shaking every time you try to look at their files to see how they're doing?" Winter stated, looking at the assistant and bodyguard as a silent order to leave them alone for now. "And you refuse to put that photo facing down on your desk?"

The bodyguard and assistant nodded and left the room.

Winter focused on her younger sister once they were alone, walking towards her left side and placed a hand onto Weiss'. "Weiss. You may _think_ that they recovered, but what about you? All that you're doing is running away and pretending that you're alright, hiding here in Atlas when you really want to go _home_."

"Winter, I—" Weiss started to argue back, but was interrupted.

"Weiss, you have done more than enough work clearing the family name. If you keep this up, you'll end up like our grandfather. Overworking yourself to death." Winter frowned. "You should take a break once in a while. You know that I can help you when you need it."

"Thank you, Winter. But really, I can do this myself." Weiss shook her head. "I still have so much work to do involving the mines, then I have to check on the dust shipment…" she trailed off, thinking of what other things she needed to take care of.

Winter pulled her hand back and gave Weiss a knowing smirk. "Oh really? You can take care of _everything_ by yourself? Like the time you were captured, Flame had to save you and he was hired to be your bodyguard. Could you have taken care of that then? Or what about the time you didn't sleep for a week trying to prove to the other chairmen that you were capable of doing everything that you were asked, and needed Amber by your side to help with the organization and meals that you had skipped every so often? And your huntsmen training that you had to relearn because you lost your left—"

"Alright! I get it, Winter!" Weiss shouted as she slammed her left fist onto the desk, leaving a bit of a dent into it. "But I… have no right to see them again. I'd rather suffer here alone rather than see the pity in their eyes." She laughed at how pathetic she sounded. "If… If Ruby saw me now, she'd regret it." Weiss held onto her left arm tightly. "I can't… do that to her. Not her."

"You have suffered enough, not that you would listen to me." Winter frowned. "How long do you plan on suffering alone like this? Do you think that your teammates would want you to suffer for the rest of your life? The clear answer is no. They would want you to take care of yourself because, despite what you say, you are still their friend and teammate. They still love and care about you, just as I do. We don't wish to see you wasting away because you're scared, Weiss."

Weiss sighed as she folded her hands together, rested her elbows onto the table and her head onto her hands. She knew that Winter was right. She was just torturing herself and running away at this point. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath again. Weighing the options of staying in Atlas and suffering alone versus going to Vale, seeing her teammates again, and let them lash out at her for disappearing all this time.

"…I left a bad impression on Yang. She hates it when people abandon her family." Weiss stated slowly, still finding excuses to run away and hide from her other family.

"But, she didn't know what happened to you. She didn't know that the SDC took you away without giving you a choice." Winter tried to reason with her little sister, hating to see her like this.

"And I didn't try to explain it to her when she came her two years ago. I doubt that she'd want to talk to me again." Weiss shook her head then gave a deep sigh, leaning back onto her chair. "Winter, please. I know that you're trying to help me, and I appreciate it, but I need to finish these reports by the end of the day. I don't… need to think about them right now."

Winter sighed as she started to walk away. "You can't run away forever." She advised as she left the room, allowing Flame and Amber back in.

"Ms. Schnee, is everything alright?" Amber asked, worried about her boss.

"I… Yes. Everything is alright." Weiss didn't know what to do anymore and looked at the photo frame facing down on her desk. Her hand shook as she attempted to lift it up but she shook her head, looking back at the reports. "Thank you for the reports, Amber. You are dismissed for today."

"I'll have your dinner ready by the time you get home." Amber gave her a little bow before leaving the room.

"If you're not done by eight pm, I'll be taking you home by force." Flame stated. He glanced at the clock showing that it was past two pm and looked out the window.

Weiss sighed. "I should finish everything by six. I would like to continue our training after, if that is alright."

"If that is what you wish." He nodded. "You… have gotten better with your left hand, but just because it's robotic, that doesn't mean that you're invincible. Same with… your _other_ skills."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What I mean is… you're trying too hard. Like what Ms. Schnee says, you need to take it easy. Atlas wasn't built in a day after all. You don't have to overwork yourself to change the company. You've already made enough changes for the better." He looked at her. "And you need to rest. I won't always be around to help you with your… _condition_."

"Oh please… I've barely _scratched_ the surface of what my father did." Weiss gritted her teeth. "And I can handle myself just fine. I'm not a child that needs to be coddled."

"But that doesn't mean that you have to work yourself to death. And I'm not coddling you. I'm just giving advice. The only person that you can turn your back to is someone that you can trust after all." Flame just shook his head, letting his boss do what she wanted for now.

Weiss, however, huffed and went back to work. She was having a difficult time concentrating, but managed to finish most of the paperwork by six as she stated earlier.

She then packed everything, still avoiding the report on Team R_BY, and left the room, following her bodyguard out of the company she's been hiding in for the past five years.

Was this really the right choice? She didn't know and she so badly wanted to return to her friends.

_No._ Weiss shook her head. _I don't deserve it. I'm not the one she chose. I can't be selfish._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: All right, here's the first chapter (not counting the prologue)! Hope that you enjoyed it! Things might be a bit slow for now, but hopefully it'll pick up soon. Please read and review! And as always, see you in the next chapter!
> 
> Thanks SunshineChildx for the review!


	3. Stupid Lie

Ruby had a frown on her face as she covered her head with the hood of her cloak. She closed her eyes, trying to think of who was calling her. Why her heart ached whenever she thought of this mysterious person. Why it felt like someone was _missing_ from her life?

She looked up as she heard Blake walking into her room and turned towards her.

“Ruby… How are you feeling?” she asked hesitantly as she closed the door. It was almost as if she was worried if Yang was going to come in and hear what they were talking about.

“Fine. Yang chewed me out again for acting on muscle memory.” Ruby chuckled weakly as she looked out the window of her room. “I know it’s not really a bad thing, but when I’m alone… I can’t help but feel that someone was watching my back and helping me fight the Grimm.” She sighed as she shook her head. “I think you heard _that_ story enough times.”

Blake frowned as her cat ears folded. She couldn’t lie to her, but she didn’t want to add any more stress to the young leader. “Ruby…”

“I’m fine, Blake. Thanks for worrying.” Ruby forced a smile towards her teammate then looked out the window again.

“Ruby, listen. I don’t want to give you false hope, but if you keep having this feeling that there’s someone near you, I believe that whoever they are… They’re important to you. Never stop thinking about them. Please.”

Ruby blinked then looked at Blake, giving her a soft smile. “Thanks Blake. You’re the only one that really encourages me to keep thinking about them. And here I thought that you hated those fairy tale stories.” She gave a weak laugh and leaned back a bit. “It’s mostly whenever we go out to fight Grimm though… but recently, I have this feeling that someone _should_ be here with us. Strange, huh? Since it’s just us _three_ really. Oh, and Team JNPR… But I still can’t really remember them.”

“Do you want to spend some time with them? Maybe it’ll help jog your memory a bit?” Blake suggested. Her ears twitched a bit as she thought of what she could do to help, and she just wanted Ruby to move around instead of sulking and thinking in her room all day. It almost scared her, thinking of what she would do if she was left with her thoughts, though Ruby seemed to be in a better position than Yang.

“Maybe but…” Ruby frowned. “For some reason, it hurts being near James… Jon, or whatever his name is.”

“Jaune?” Blake raised a brow, thinking about it.

“Yeah, him.” Ruby pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I know he’s a nice guy and all. Both you and Yang told me so. But… when I’m alone with him, I have this pain in my chest. Like… That person that I feel should be here was hurt whenever I’m near Jaune.” She looked up at Blake worriedly. “Did… we hurt someone? Please tell me the truth, Blake.”

Blake folded her ears as she thought about what to say next, then looked at Ruby. “Maybe… you should have a talk with him. Though, how long have you’ve been having that feeling? A few days? Weeks? Months?”

“Hmmm…” Ruby crossed her arms, thinking hard about it. “I think since… last year, but it wasn’t until this past couple months that this feeling came this strongly. It’s really weird, Blake! You know how sometimes you feel like someone’s watching you? Well it’s like that, but less creepy!”

“I-I think I understand what you mean?” Blake held her hands up defensively. “So… it was a little after you developed that muscle memory?”

They didn’t know what to call that condition, so they just called it that.

“Yeah…” Ruby thought about it when she first started having that.

It was only a few months since she had woken up from her two-week coma and needed some light check ups to see if she was fit for combat again. Yang gave her some limits about it and Ruby followed it… until she started hearing a voice and it helped her narrowly avoid fatal Grimm attacks time and time again.

“Hey, Blake…” Ruby looked at her teammate. “Were we always a team of _three_? It seems odd since most of the records has teams of _four_.”

Blake tried to stay calm as possible, having spoken about it to Yang before. “Our team was special. You proved to be strong enough without a partner.”

Ruby merely stared at Blake for a while before sighing. “Was it because I could hear this voice in my head telling me where the Grimm are? Or because of something else?”

“Focus on recovering. You’ll remember why soon.” Blake shook her head and started to back away towards the door.

She hated to lie to Ruby like this, but if she couldn’t remember, then she shouldn’t tell her. Blake was more scared of how Yang would react to this than Ruby remembering.

“Why can’t you just tell me?” Ruby looked down at the ground, feeling annoyed that her sister and teammate won’t tell her the whole story. “It’s always ‘Just wait, you’ll remember soon’… I’m not some baby that you two need to protect if you say I’m as strong as you two say that I am!” She clenched her fists tightly. “I appreciate that you two are so worried about me and overflowing my head with memories, but…” The young leader looked up at Blake, almost glaring at her. “I would at least like an _honest_ answer than a run-around!”

“I—“ Blake started but turned her head when the door open. “Yang…” Blake’s ears folded as she stepped aside, looking away from her.

“What? Gonna tell me that it’s for my own good again?” Ruby nearly spat. It was uncharacteristic of her to act this way, but she was beyond irritated with not being told what she felt was important.

If she’s as great as what other people were saying, then why won’t they tell her the entire truth? Why won’t they answer her questions? At first she thought that they were protecting her from overflowing her mind, which made sense because sometimes she did have headaches when remembering too much at once. But now? It was annoying, especially when they were obviously hiding something whenever she asked about their team.

“Yang, I’m sick and tired of you two avoiding the questions I’m asking. I don’t want to hear you two say that it’s for my own good!” Ruby glared at her sister who just looked back at her. “Please. I just want to know. The doctors said that I can recover my memories after all. Why won’t you help?”

Yang gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. “At least… completely remember Team JNPR. Then I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“Yang?” Blake was surprised. “W-What about… Summer and Tai? She just remembered who Qrow and Professor Ozpin were! Can’t we wait until she remembers your parents? Or her time at Beaco--”

“I’m not going to wait that long!” Ruby stomped her foot onto the ground and stared at them. “What if my condition gets worse? You two were the ones that were worried about it the most! I can’t control it if we’re on a hunt and you two can’t keep your eyes on me at all times!” She stared at Yang. “One more mission. If my conditions makes me act on my own again, you have to tell me everything.”

“Ruby, that’s—“ Blake started but Yang placed a hand onto her shoulder.

“Make it _two_.” Yang stared back at her sister. She didn’t want to admit it, but Ruby was right. She was wandering off on her own more often now. But at the same time… At the same time, she didn’t want to talk to _her_. “If your condition gets worse with these next two missions, then fine. I’ll tell you everything.”

Ruby nodded then went back to her bed, sitting down and looking out the window again as Yang and Blake left her room.

“What was that?” Blake asked after a minute of leaving the room. “I thought that you said that you didn’t want Ruby to know about Weiss? That Weiss left us for the SDC?” She was confused as to what Yang was thinking but trusted her judgment.

“I… Blake, look. I haven’t been completely honest. But what Weiss said, I still can’t really forgive her.” Yang sighed as she held her head in frustration.

Blake frowned and placed her hands onto her partner’s shoulder, trying her best to comfort her. “Leaving… the people that you care about hurts, I know.” She looked down in guilt. “But maybe something happened and she thinks that she’s trying to protect Ruby. I could try to convin—“

“Don’t. Just…” Yang sighed, shaking her head. “Thanks for the advice, Blake, but I got this. It’s a big sister’s job to take care of her little sister.” She pulled out her scroll, thinking about what to do, then looked at her partner who just looked like a sad cat. Unable to stop herself from smiling, she rubbed her ears lightly. “Can you start dinner? I’ll be there in a moment after I make a call.”

“Sure. Spaghetti?” Blake perked up a bit and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Yang nodded, giving her a small smile. “I’m… sorry. This is just hard for all of us.”

Blake shook her head. “If you need anything, I’m here to help.” She moved closer to her partner, taking a hand into hers. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

“Thanks.” Yang smiled at her and scratched her ears again. “Go. I’ll be there to help you soon.”

“Right.” The Faunus nodded and walked towards the kitchen, leaving Yang alone in the living room.

Yang waited for Blake to be out of ear shot and walked towards the patio outside, closing the glass door behind her and calling Winter.

“….Winter?” she asked once the call connected. “It might be too soon, but we need Weiss over here.” Yang sat down, sighing to herself.

“ _I was thinking the same thing actually, but never could find the right time to call._ ”

“I’m still not happy with what happened two years ago. Just so you know.” Yang warned as she shook her head.

With how Ruby was acting now, it was probably time for them to have the team back. Her reflexes were pretty much back to normal, and thanks to her muscle memory condition, she was able to hold her own against smaller Grimm. But it worried her. What if Ruby had to fight more Grimm? What if she had to fight some Deathstalkers and Nevermores alone? Or even other bigger Grimm? Ruby didn’t know how to control her silver eyes and she was scared of losing her little sister.

“ _….Yang? Are you still there?_ ” Winter asked.

“What? Oh, yeah. I’m sorry, but we do need Weiss over to explain a few things. Do you think that you can convince Weiss to come here?”

“ _As I was saying, I have been trying to convince Weiss to at least acknowledge the idea of returning to Vale. She is stubborn and convinced that you hate her and don’t want her to return._ ”

Yang groaned and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Ok, maybe she was surprised that Weiss was alive when she found out, and maybe she was annoyed that Weiss didn’t try to contact them after all that time so she let her temper get to her head and said some things that she shouldn’t have. But that didn’t matter right now. Ruby wanted Weiss back. Well, not exactly, but Ruby wanted the team. This was more complicated than she thought.

“…Does Weiss still care for Ruby?” Yang finally spoke to Winter.

“ _Yes. She does. Why does that matter?_ ” Winter asked, curious to know what Yang was thinking.

“I have a plan. She might kill me for it though, but I’m certain that it’ll drag her ass back here in a heartbeat.” Yang was confident in how she could get Weiss to come to Vale. She just didn’t know if she could make it within the two-mission promise she made with Ruby.

“ _I’m listening. You’ll have to make it quick though. I’ll have to change Weiss’ entire schedule, that she set up, around after hearing this plan._ ”

__________________________________________________

Weiss panted as she used her sword as a clutch to hold her steady. She held a hand up to keep Flame away from her. “I’m… fine.” She panted and stumbled as she stood up straight. “Again!”

“Schnee, you need a break.” The wolf Faunus shook his head and moved closer to her. “Just because your night—“ Flame started but shut his mouth when Weiss interrupted him.

“I said again!” She growled at him and closed her eyes. She started to summon her knight but stopped when she felt a hand onto her shoulder. Weiss turned to glare at who would dare interrupt her as she was training and was surprised to see her sister. “W-Winter…? Did you need something?” Weiss relaxed slightly and let her Glyphs disappear. “Why are you here?”

“One question at a time, Weiss.” Winter looked at Flame who nodded and left the training area. “I came here in order to inform you about your teammates.”

Weiss frowned, not wanting to hear anything about them right now. “As I said before, Yang said that they were fine. They’re a talented group of people and they’ll—“

“Ruby Rose is dying.” Winter cut in with a frown.

Weiss felt her blood run cold. No. There was no way. “…H-How?” _How could Ruby be dying_?!

“She hadn’t quite recovered from a mission she went on and Yang didn’t notice the severity of her wounds.” Winter spoke grimly. “Yang has informed me this morning that Ruby won’t make it by the end of the week and… that she is currently missing.”

“I…” Weiss held her head, exhausted. What was that idiot thinking now?! Her old instincts were kicking in thanks to the exhaustion preventing her from thinking rationally, and her nightmares of losing Ruby. She needed to see her. She needed to _protect_ her. “You said that you can handle the SDC while I’m gone?”

“That is correct. What are you planning on doing, Weiss?” Winter raised a curious brow, unsure of Weiss’ intentions.

“I’m planning on finding that dolt.” Weiss growled as she walked towards the building, calling for Amber to set up a bullhead to transport her to Vale as soon as she could while she packed her needed necessities.

Weiss packed her clothes, dust, and her mouth guard—something that she needed because of her nightmares. Once she made sure that she had everything in her suitcase, she threw her white cloak around her shoulders and went to find Amber about the bullhead. She thanked her for finding and setting one up so quickly. Weiss was also thankful that it’ll take her about two hours to travel instead of the usual four.

“Schnee, should I come with you?” Flame raised a brow, unsure of what he should do.

“Assist my sister with the SDC and protect her. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone though.” Weiss shook her head, not wanting to leave when she had so much work to do, but she still had her scroll. “If you need anything, I have my scroll. Take care of my sister.”

“Of course.” Flame nodded, walking Weiss towards the bullhead. “Remember, I won’t be nearby if you have an attack. You’ll have to figure out whether what you’re seeing is real or not on your own. Also, you have to watch your back. You’re insanely vulnerable when you stress out following them with your eyes.”

“I don’t need you to remind me.” Weiss sighed. “I’ll be fine on my own. Please take care of Winter.”

Flame just nodded again, helping Weiss place the luggage in the bullhead. “I will contact you if there is an emergency.”

“Thank you…” she nodded. “Ruby… don’t do anything stupid and just wait for me.” Weiss growled as she went into the bullhead and took her seat.

Once the bullhead left, Flame looked at Winter. “You planned this. Didn’t you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Winter gave a small smile and pulled out her scroll to call a certain brawler. “Hello, Yang. You were correct. Weiss is on her way and will be there within two hours.”

“ _Oh shit, really? We actually got a call for a mission though._ ” There was a pause for a moment before she spoke again. “ _As much as this sounds wrong, hopefully she’ll find us during it and she’ll find Ruby first. She might be able to keep my sister on a leash and stay safe._ ” Yang sighed and was quiet for another moment before speaking again. “ _Thanks, Winter. I owe ya one._ ”

“No. Thank _you_ , Yang. I just hope that everything goes well. I wish all of you well. If you need anything, contact me.” Winter nodded then hung up the scroll. “Now then, Flame. Shall we get to work?”

“Of course. Amber should have the schedule.” He nodded as he led Winter back into the building. “I hope that you’re not a workaholic like your younger sister, Miss Schnee.”

“Unlike her, I’ll work reasonable hours. Now, about this week’s schedule…”

________________________________________________________

Yang sighed deeply as she put her scroll away then looked up when she noticed Blake looking at her. “What’s up, Blake? Worried about something?”

“Who are you hoping to find us during the mission, and why are you thanking Winter? Is it something about Ruby?” Blake trusted Yang, but not knowing anything about this plan worried her.

What if Yang was hurt? What if her relationship with Ruby was damaged beyond repair? They seemed tense enough as they are now and she’d hate for them to tear each other apart after seeing how close they were back at Beacon.

Blake jumped when she felt Yang kiss her head and rubbed her ears lightly, nuzzling unconsciously against her hand. “Y-Yang…?”

“Ruby wanted answers. Weiss coming here would… kinda make it easier to explain.” Yang sighed as she scratched her ears. “And I wasn’t completely honest when I came back from that Atlas trip.”

“I know.” Blake wrapped her arms around Yang, resting her head against her shoulder. “I could tell that you didn’t want to talk about it. I was waiting for you to tell me when you calmed down a bit.” Her hands shook as she gripped onto the back of her partner’s shirt. “You said Weiss is coming right? Do… Do you really think that Ruby can handle it? Or even Weiss? How did you even convince her to come back in the first place?”

“Well…” Yang pulled back from Blake and gave her a weary smile. “I uh… kinda told Winter to tell Weiss that… Ruby was dying.”

Blake blinked once. Twice. Then a third time as she processed what the brawler just said. “You…. what?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And here we have me coming up with dumb ideas. I swear I rewrote the outline for this story at least a hundred times before coming up with something that made sense to me. Apologies for that!
> 
> Thanks SunshineChildx for the review. See y'all next time!


	4. Help... please...

Ruby closed her eyes as she walked, taking deep breaths to calm herself and focus on trying to stay near Yang and Blake for once. As much as she wanted to know everything, this mission gave her a bad feeling and she didn’t want her condition to separate her from her team. She nervously held onto Crescent Rose as they walked deeper into the forest. It was only fighting a few dozen Beowolves and Ursa again, so why couldn’t she stop shaking? Why couldn’t she get this bad feeling that there was something else here?

She reopened her eyes and glanced back to make sure that Yang and Blake were still near her, and was thankful that they were.

“Rubes? Are you nervous about this mission?” Yang raised a brow. She’s never seen her sister this nervous before and she knew how much Ruby loved fighting Beowolves. “Or is your _friend_ saying that there’s something coming to get you?”

“Yang. It doesn’t work that way and I told you that before.” Ruby glared at her. She didn’t hear that voice just yet, which was worrying her a little bit. Did that mean that there weren’t Grimm near them, or did it mean something else?

“Yang… what kind of mission is this again? Something’s not right.” Blake twitched her cat ears, trying to listen to the sounds around them. “It’s too quiet.”

“There’s a small little village up a head that’s being overrun by Grimm. The townsfolk are terrified of leaving their houses. Sounded simple enough, but now kinda regretting it seeing as there’s nothing around us.” Yang scratched the back of her head as she thought about it.

All that Yang got from the information was to head towards the central village and get rid of about fifty Beowolves and Ursa. Was there something else in the mission description that she missed? Or was there information left out? She was surprised that there weren’t any other Grimm in the description, or was that why? Was there a bigger Grimm here as well?

“After this mission, I’m gonna make a complaint that the client doesn’t know how to give us all the information we need to do our jobs efficiently.” Yang huffed, making sure that Ruby was still with them. She sighed in relief when she saw that she was, and they finally arrived into town. “Well, ladies. We’re finally here.”

Ruby took out her scroll and looked at the mission details before acting like the leader she was supposed to be and led the way into the village. Blake and Yang smiled at her, glad that she was able to do that much despite her condition, and followed after her.

At first, Yang was the one doing the talking while Ruby watched, making the excuse that she was mute for a while until Ruby started talking to the client herself.

Ruby stopped walking once an old man walked towards her and the team. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m afraid that there’s nothing here for you to see.”

“My name’s Ruby Rose. And this is my team that accepted the request to eliminate the Grimm within this area.” Ruby stated, unsure why he was giving her a bad feeling as well.

“You three?” He looked the trio over. “Where is your fourth? I have heard that teams like yours usually have four people.”

“Uh… they—“ Ruby started, unsure of what to say before Yang stepped in.

“They have a cold right now and are resting back at home. We didn’t want them to overwork themselves, so we just said that we were taking a long walk. Don’t worry. We can still handle this mission without them.”

Ruby looked at Yang, unsure of what to think of that answer, but looked back at the old man. “That’s right. May we speak to the client that requested us?”

“You are speaking to him.” The old man nodded. “My name is Agni, and I am the mayor of this little village. We are grateful for your help.”

“Riiiight…” Yang stepped in front of Ruby. “Did you forget to leave some details in the mission request? On the way here, there was no movement within the forest. It was too quiet.” She crossed her arms. “I highly doubt that you would all be here if the Grimm ate all the animals in the area.” She glanced at Blake who gave a slight nod and glanced around in case they were attacked by Grimm… or by the village folk.

Ruby frowned, unsure of why Yang was being so hostile and placed a hand onto her shoulder. “Yang, we’re here to help them from the Grimm attacks. Let’s get this over with.” She looked at Agni. “Where are the Grimm coming from?”

“Out back, within the mountains.” Agni turned towards the mountains. “There’s a cave. The Grimm seem to be coming from there.”

“Thank you.” Ruby then looked at Yang and Blake. “Let’s go.”

Blake had her weapon ready and Yang had her gauntlets in active mode as they followed Ruby towards the mountain, completely missing the sneer that Agni was giving them as they left.

There was rustling in the leaves once they were completely gone. “Go. Don’t leave any evidence that they were here.” The leaves rustled again as Agni glared at the path that Ruby and the others left. “Good for nothing hunters. We’ll make sure that you’ll regret this job.”

_________________________________________________

“Well… That was creepy.” Yang glanced back at the village, wondering why that place gave her a bad vibe. She watched over Blake and Ruby, making sure that they were feeling alright and not as nervous as she felt.

“You could say that again.” Ruby mumbled, continuing to walk towards the mountains, her weapon ready in case a Grimm suddenly appeared.

“Blake, was he the only one in the town? I didn’t see anyone else moving around in the other houses.” Yang asked her partner. She may not be as observant as the others, but with how creepy the little village was, she couldn’t help but look around and notice how most of the houses seemed abandoned.

The village seemed so dead that Yang didn’t know why there was even a request to eliminate the Grimm here. Then there was the fact that he asked about them not having a fourth… The brawler looked at Blake who looked back at her and shook her head.

Yang frowned and crossed her arms. “Maybe we should just abandon this quest?”

“We’re heroes. We don’t back down from quests.” Ruby stated as she looked at Yang. “Just stay on guard. You picked it, so I’m confident that we can finish this mission on our own.”

“Ruby…” Yang was glad that her sister had so much faith in her, but if anything went south, she’d blame herself for it. Shaking that thought out of her head, she prepared herself for battle. “You’re right. Let’s finish this mission quickly and head home.”

Blake’s ear twitched when she heard something moving towards them. “Yang…”

“How many?” Yang looked at Ruby, who looked back at them.

“Two… three…” Blake paused for a moment as she listened. “I hear five people moving towards us. They sound like they’re trying to be quiet, and they’re moving through the trees.”

Ruby thought about it as she continued walking. “We shouldn’t involve them with the Grimm.” She paused for a moment, feeling the look that Yang was giving her without looking. “We don’t know if there are Grimm, yeah, but we’re still Huntresses. Our job is to protect the people. Creepy or not.”

“I just hope that you know what you’re doing…” Yang sighed, not wanting Ruby to get hurt from whatever she’s planning, and followed after her. “Blake, can you tell us when they’re close? Just close enough for us to react in time if they try to attack us, I mean.”

“They’re getting pretty close already.” Blake glanced at Yang, hand on her weapon, and was ready to shoot them if they got too close. “Get ready to fight in five seconds…”

“Shit, Ruby.” Yang warned. She was glad when Ruby pulled her weapon. What she didn’t expect was Ruby shooting a warning shot behind them. “…Was that the voice in your head telling you to do that, or are you just mad at me?”

“Yang! Down!” Blake grabbed her partner’s arm and pulled her away from a young teen jumping at her with a lance.

“Hey! What’s that for?!” Yang stumbled next to Blake then grabbed the rock that was being thrown at her.

“You three are hunters? You’re going the wrong way.” The teen with the lance huffed, putting it away.

“You’re not gonna apologize for trying to hurt us?!” Yang growled, throwing the rock onto the floor.

“We thought that you were the Grimm.” Another teen stated from behind a tree. “Are you the hunters that Agni hired?”

Ruby nodded as she lowered her weapon. “What’re your names? Where do we find the Grimm?”

The teens looked at each other before standing before them.

“My name’s Jade, he’s Grey.” Jade turned and started walking. “The Grimm that you’re looking for are this way.”

Grey just glared at them then started to follow Jade after a moment.

Blake frowned and listened around them. The others footsteps she heard didn’t start moving until Ruby started following after them.

Yang noticed that there was something on her partner’s mind and moved closer to her, whispering. “What’s going on, Blake? These kids can’t be trusted?”

“There’s three more about fifty meters behind us. If they were this hostile to us, who knows what they’re going to do.” Blake didn’t like this at all. “Do you think we should get out of here?”

“Ruby made up her mind. It’s too late to turn back now. We’ll just have to power through it if something happens.” Yang punched her fists together, ready to fight anything that would come their way.

Ruby didn’t say anything, but she kept her guard up. Something on the back of her mind was warning her to be careful, but she didn’t know why. It wasn’t the first time it happened, but seven times out of ten, it was just her being paranoid. This time…. The nagging feeling was getting stronger the closer they walked towards the mountain.

“What kind of Grimm are these? The ones that you want us to eradicate?” Ruby wanted to know more about the Grimm.

At least it would be something to talk about, and if these Grimm were so dangerous, why did they only hire one team? Why not more? It was just a few dozen Beowolves and Ursa, so sure, more than one team would be overkill, but if there were enough to cause this much of a problem… either the teams that they hire were amateurs, or the Grimm were really _that_ dangerous.

“A pack of alpha Beowolves and Ursa. We can barely keep them away from the village.” Jade frowned. “Agni reassured us that there were hunters that can help us.” She then turned and gave them a look. “Are you three going to fail like the rest of them?”

“We won’t fail. We’ll kill off the Grimm that are attacking your village.” Ruby said confidently, though part of her knew that it wouldn’t be that easy.

The closer they got to the mountains, the less trees and greenery were around.

“In that cave.” Jade pointed to it. “Deep inside, they have a nest.”

Ruby nodded and looked at Yang and Blake, who nodded back and readied their weapons. Ruby then looked back at Jade and offered her a smile. “We’ll be back before you know it! Just stay in the village for now.” She said confidently as she grabbed a stick and grabbed a rag from her pack to light a fire, then lead the way into the cave.

Jade looked at Grey then back at the trio. “Good luck, hunters.” She mumbled the ‘hunters’ with venom, Blake being the only one that caught that as she walked into the cave with Ruby and Yang.

Once they were out of earshot, Blake moved closer to Yang. “I don’t think they like us.”

“Really? With them throwing their weapons earlier, I wouldn’t have guessed.” Yang shrugged her shoulders. “But what makes you think that? I don’t think that you’re the only one they hate. That kid threw the weapon at me.”

“Just how they told us ‘good luck’ seemed… off.” Blake looked around them. “Ruby, wait. I’m not seeing any Grimm in here besides some tree roots.”

“I’m just trying to find what that sweet smell is. I’ll be right back!” Ruby continued forward as Yang shook her head then decided to inspect the tree roots more.

“How are there even tree roots deep inside this cave?” Yang looked at one and moved closer to it, placing a hand onto it.

“Ya—“ Blake warned when she saw it move but was too late. The roots moved and grabbed the bumbleby duo, wrapping around them tightly and slamming them into the wall.

“W-What the hell is this?!” Yang grunted as she grabbed one of the roots and used all her strength to rip it off, but soon grew weaker until she stopped moving, falling asleep where she was.

“Y-Yang…” Blake reached out to her partner weakly, slowly falling asleep as well.

“Yang? Blake?!” Ruby rushed back towards them, when she saw that they were being held unconscious on the wall by the tree roots. “Hey! Wake up!”

Ruby looked at the ground, seeing the tree roots crawling towards her but not too close. She waved the makeshift torch at them, barely keeping the tree roots away from her with it.

“Think, Ruby! What the hell is going on? The tree roots won’t come near me as long as I have fire, but how do you get Yang and Blake down without getting caught yourself and hurting them?” she mumbled to herself, panicking from being alone. “Ugh, why isn’t that voice helping me this time?”

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t heard that voice in a while. Was whatever this thing was in here stopping her from hearing them? Or is it not a Grimm?

Too much in her thoughts, Ruby didn’t notice a tree root slowly curling around her ankle before it pulled her hard enough to fall onto the ground with a loud thud. She dropped the torch from the fall and looked at the roots in fear as they wrapped around her waist and wrists.

She struggled against them for a moment, her vision growing hazy as she saw someone running towards her.

“H-Help… please…” Ruby begged before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter~ Sorry if it's a little on the shorter side. I'll be at AX for the weekend. 
> 
> Thanks LieutBrook for the review! Hope to see you all soon!


	5. Who are you?

Ruby opened her eyes again, blinking away the bright light as she looked round. She was in what seemed to be an unfamiliar school. Raising a brow, she started walking down the pathway, seeing everything starting to become clearer.

“Ruby Rose.”

Ruby flinched when her name was called, causing her to turn and see a man with white hair looking at her.

“Welcome back to Beacon, Miss Rose. Miss Xiao Long and Miss Belladonna are waiting for you as well as Miss Schnee.” 

“Schnee…? Who…?” Ruby blinked, feeling more confused. Why was he talking to her as if he knew her? Why did she feel like she knew him before as well? “I’m sorry, but... Wait… you’re Professor Ozpin, right? Where… where am I?”

“Do you not remember? You’re at Beacon Academy. You graduated here five years ago along with your team.” The man took a sip of his mug then looked into Ruby’s eyes. “You’ve come back here to show the new students what it’s like to be real Huntresses.”

“Right… I’m the leader. Yang and Blake were partners… but wait, who was my partner?” Ruby held her head in pain with one hand, struggling to remember. “The best partner you could ever have...?”

 _“I promise that I’ll be the best partner that you could ever have_.”

“Who…” Ruby groaned then looked up seeing Yang and Blake offering their hands to her. “Yang…? Blake…?”

“Come on, Ruby! It’s what you’ve always dreamed of! Time to kick some Grimm’s butt!” Yang grinned at her.

Dream? Grimm? That’s right!

“I came to Beacon because I wanted to be a Huntress and defeat every Grimm. I wanted to be a hero.” Ruby had a smile on her face. “I graduated and became a full fledged Huntress.” She looked up at Yang and Blake, taking their hands. “Let’s go defeat some Grimm and protect the people!” 

“It’s time to be the hero that you always wanted to become, and keep the people safe.” Blake smiled at her.

_Why did that sound so wrong coming from her?_

Shaking that thought out of her head, Ruby didn’t know how much time had passed. It could’ve been months or even years, but everyone knew her name, as well as Yang and Blake’s, but it still felt like something… _someone_ was missing from her life.

“ _Aren’t you forgetting something, dolt?_ ”

“Wha…?” Ruby looked around, seeing a shadowy figure with wings far away from her. “W-Who are you?”

“ _You know who I am._ ”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking you!” Ruby held her head in pain. Flashes of people’s faces appeared in her mind, but she didn’t know their names. “W-Who…?”

“ _Are you happy here?_ ”

“Happy? Of course I am! I’m living my dream of becoming a Huntress and hero! That’s not something that I’d ever regret!” Ruby frowned at the shadowy figure. She tried to pin the faces onto the figure but it didn’t seem _right_. Like the faces didn’t match the figure standing before her, and each time she tired, the figure just came closer to her.

Ruby used that chance to see if she could make out any features that could help her pin the faces that appeared in her mind to them, but they just ended up being a mere blob with wings. Why were the wings the only thing that she could make out clearly, but nothing else?!

“ _Are you really happy living your dream here?_ ”

“Of course! I’m a full time huntress with Yang and Blake and… and…” Ruby held onto her head again. There was someone that she was forgetting, wasn’t there?

“ _Unfortunately for you, if you stay here any longer, you’ll die._ ”

“Being a Huntress is a dangerous job! I know that! But as long as I can keep the people safe and happy, then it doesn’t matter to me!” Wait, something about that didn’t sound right.

“ _What about your friends and family? Do you not care about what they think?_ ”

“I…” Now Ruby was conflicted. She has always wanted to be a Huntress, just like her parents. She wanted to protect the people and keep them safe.

Ruby groaned as she held her head again, seeing people’s faces flashing in her mind again, but this time, she could remember their names. Ren. Pyrrha. Nora. Jaune. Professor Goodwitch. Taiyang. Summer.

“Mgh… W-Who… are you?” Ruby started to see cracks in the world and was getting scared of it. “W-What’s going on…?!”

“ _It’s a huntress’s job to protect the people_ .” The figure was closer this time, but their wings were gone and she could see that they had a long ponytail. “ _You’re the one who taught me that. You can’t be here anymore, Ruby. Go back to the real world. So that you could be the hero that you have always dreamed of._ ”

“Real… who…?” Ruby groaned when she looked around her. The forest was dark and she saw a deathstalker crawling towards her. She was about to scream but she couldn’t find the voice to even make a sound.

She backed away, never taking her eyes off the Grimm. Ruby saw the figure jumping in front of her and she instantly had a sinking feeling in her gut. Why did this scene seem familiar? Why did she want to cry?

“Wai—“

The figure pushed Ruby away and her eyes widened.

“No!”

That feeling Ruby felt earlier got worse. A million times worse and she didn’t want that feeling to be real.

“ _We’re here to make the world a better place. For everyone_.”

Ruby screamed and everything was enveloped with a white light. The next thing Ruby knew, the figure was in front of her, holding her steady.

“ _Come back, Ruby. You don’t belong in this world. Yang and Blake need you._ I _need you_.” 

“W-Who… are you?” Ruby felt her head spinning and saw the figure fading. “H-Hey! Wait!” 

“ _You need to wake up! Remember the people who love you. How do they make you feel? Life is beautiful. It’s precious. The reason that we fight is to protect the people that we love. You taught me that. Now please. Come back to me.”_  

“Wai--!” Ruby opened her eyes, seeing herself in the dark cave again and a barely lit torch on the floor.

Snapping herself out of it, she stumbled towards the torch, feeling weaker than usual and looking around. Right. She was in a cave looking for some Grimm with Yang and Blake… wait…!

“Yang?! Blake?!” Ruby looked around and gasped at what she saw. 

She saw both Yang and Blake tied up by what seemed to be tree roots, and they were unconscious with a smile on their faces. 

“No… Yang! Blake!” Ruby ran towards them, stumbling a few times as she made her way towards them and didn’t know what to do. How could she get them down? 

“ _Remember the people who love you._ ”

Ruby took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Thinking about the people who loved her. Who she loved and how much she wanted to protect them.

Her eyes glowed and soon everything was enveloped in a bright light. Ruby snapped out of her trance when she heard a loud thud and Yang and Blake groaning in pain.

“Y-Yang?! Blake?!” Ruby rushed towards their sides, falling to her knees to see how they were doing, then let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad that you two are ok!”

“Ugh… w-what’s…?” Yang groaned and held her head, feeling tired.

“We gotta get out of here!” Ruby struggled to her feet but fell over. “Ugh…”

“Ruby?!” Yang caught her sister and looked around, seeing the tree branches surrounding them but staying away from the fire. “W-What’s going on…?!”

“We should get out of here before questioning it!” Blake huffed as she got up and grabbed the torch.

Yang nodded and carried Ruby in her arms. “Ugh… you need to lay off some cookies, Rubes.” She huffed, unsure if Ruby was heavier than she remembered or if she was just unusually tired.

“Yang! Joke later!” Blake swung the torch to keep the branches away from them and looked around, flicking her ears to find the exit and started to walk towards that direction. “This way!”

Ruby groaned as she held onto Yang, looking back at the branches that were slowly crawling towards them. She looked at her sister and Blake, noticing that they were moving more sluggishly than usual and looked back again at the branches. Was this a new type of Grimm? Or was it something that the village came up with? Either way, she had a feeling that they were going to die if they lingered there any longer.

“Mgh…” Ruby grunted as she made herself comfortable in Yang’s arms and continued to stare at the branches as Yang and Blake continued to make their way out of the cave.

“Ruby? What are you planning?” Yang huffed, trying not to drop her.

“Just focus on getting out…!” Ruby huffed as she closed her eyes. _Think of the people who love you. Who did I teach that…?_ She shook that thought out of head and thought of Yang, Blake, her family and friends –who she needed to ask Yang about—and she looked at the branches. Her eyes glowed silver and the branches stayed away from them, giving Blake the chance to spot the cave exit.

“Over there!” The Faunus looked at Yang, who nodded and started to move as fast as she could. 

The bumblebee duo panted as they exited the cave and Ruby squirmed out of Yang’s arms.

“Yang, they’re not following us anymore.” Ruby patted Yang’s shoulder, still looking into the cave to make sure that the branches really weren’t following them.

“What the hell was that?!” Yang looked back at the cave, moving away from it and set Ruby down when she was sure that she was alright. “Ruby, what did you do to get us out?” 

“I-I dunno! The voice in my head told me to think about the people that loved me, and I thought of a bunch of people, and… Oh, speaking of people, who are Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren? Are they the Team JNPR you want me to remember? And… and Mom’s not really gone… is she?” Ruby had so many questions for Yang.

She had so many names floating in her head as well as some faces, but at the same time she couldn’t remember _that_ figure. No name or face. But she _feels_ like she should know who they are. Ruby wanted to know this person, who was the closest person to her heart.

Yang looked at Ruby in disbelief. Whatever happened in the cave helped her recover some of her memories, but how much? She bit her lip, thinking of what she could tell her and just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, Blake shoved them aside and cried out in pain.

“Blake?!” Yang sat up from the ground and pulled her partner into her arms. She glared around them and saw Jade glaring back at them.

“How did you three escape the Flora-Sleep?!” She growled as she fired an arrow at them.

Yang grunted as she blocked it with her prosthetic arm and got to her feet, pulling both Ruby and Blake up. “You just tried to kill us, didn’t you?! There’s no actual Grimm to worry about here, is there?!”

“That _was_ the Grimm, you dumbass! That Grimm was supposed to kill you three!” Jade glared at them.

Ruby looked at the young teen in disbelief. “Why would you want the Grimm to kill us? A Huntress’s job is to kill the Grimm!”

Yang grunted as she stumbled forward but was caught by Blake. They looked back to see Grey with his lance pointing at them.

“We hate Hunters and Huntresses!” Grey growled as he lunged forward and swung his lance at Blake.

Ruby gritted her teeth and used her scythe to block it and struggled to push him back. “But why?! We’re just trying to help make the world a better place!”

“If you really are trying to make the world a better place, then give back our parents! You Hunters did nothing but use civilians as a shield! You just take everything that we have and think that you own the place! You’re not protecting us! You’re just taking and doing whatever the hell you want!” Grey growled as he overpowered Ruby and pushed her back.

“Agh!”

“Ruby!” Yang glared at Grey and moved away from Blake. “Listen kid, you don’t know what it’s like to be a Huntress!” She took a fighting stance, not wanting to listen to their crap anymore.

“Y-Yang… wait…!” Ruby coughed as she struggled to get up. “L-Let’s go.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Red!” Jade drew an arrow again and shot it at Ruby. 

Yang quickly ran towards the young leader and bit her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain when the arrow grazed her leg.

“Yang?!” Ruby held onto the cat Faunus and looked at Jade in disbelief. Were there really people that hated Hunters this much? Her head started to hurt and she looked at Blake. “Blake!”

Blake glanced at Ruby then went back to focusing on Grey, making sure that he wasn’t going to attack them as she slowly made her way towards her teammates.

“Take Yang and run!” Ruby ordered.

“What?!” Yang looked at her in disbelief. “I’m not going to leave you!”

“There’s no time to argue! Whatever that Grimm did to us made us weaker right now. You can’t carry us both away with that injured leg!” Ruby tried to reason with her. “And I’m the leader, now do as I say!" 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Yang growled as she leaned onto Blake, who helped her stand and muttered an apology before looking at Ruby. “Come on! We gotta go!”

Just as Ruby was about to get up, Grey jumped between them. “You three aren’t going anywhere except back in that cave!”

“Both of you two, go! I’ll distract them!” Ruby ordered, wanting them to at least get out. ‘ _I have the speed. If I can distract them for long enough, I can use my semblance to get away from them and catch up to Yang and Blake later._ ’ 

Yang gritted her teeth. She knew that Ruby had a plan but she was still worried about her. One look at Blake and she made up her mind. They could get away and Ruby could catch up. “Don’t do anything too reckless…” Yang frowned as she started to limp away with Blake’s help.

“I said that you three aren’t going anywhere except back into that cave!” Grey jumped towards Yang and Blake but Ruby blocked him again.

“I don’t wanna fight you!” Ruby tried to reason with him. “We’re not like those other Hunters that you hate so much!”

“That’s what they all said before they killed our parents! Agni was the only one that helped us!” Jade fired multiple arrows at Ruby who pushed Grey back and swung her scythe to slice the arrows. “All you Hunters do is kill people for fun! We’re nothing but a game to you!" 

Ruby was shocked at what she was hearing. Hunters killing people as game? She remembered hearing stories from her Uncle Qrow of that being a thing. That he went to Beacon to learn how to hunt people as well. But that was for his tribe, and he doesn’t hurt anyone unless it’s in self defense now!

Too lost in her thoughts, she was kicked back against the ground and was being pulled by her hair.

“Argh!” She winced in pain and looked up, grabbing Grey’s wrist and kicked off the ground so that he wasn’t pulling as hard.

He looked at her and raised his lance, striking it down.

Ruby rolled off to the side and grabbed her Crescent Rose. Were Yang and Blake far enough already? She hoped that they were, and just as she was about to turn, Grey stabbed the ground next to her and she couldn’t move. She turned to see why and saw that his lance had struck her cape into the ground.

Just as Ruby looked up at Grey, he punched her in the face then grabbed her cape. “How does it feel to be hunted yourself, Huntress?” He spat as he continued punching her.

Ruby didn’t bother trying to protect herself, then glanced back when she heard Jade cry out in pain.

“Jade?” Grey stopped his assault on Ruby and let her go, causing her to fall onto the ground with a thud. He rushed towards where Jade was then grunted when he was shoved by a force of wind. “Who the hell are you?!”

Ruby groaned as she struggled to keep her eyes open and barely saw someone jumping in front of her in a white cloak.

“M…Mom…?” She asked just as she passed out, wondering why she said that, considering her mother has been gone for years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And I'm back from my trip to AX~ I swear details and fighting scenes are my weakness in writing besides fluff... This Grimm was inspired by an enemy from Inuyasha and the Devil's Snare. Hope that you enjoyed it~ (My editor sure did)
> 
> Thanks Dragonqueen1993 and LieutBrook for the reviews. See you all in the next chapter!


	6. Remember yet?

Yang was leaning onto Blake, who was helping her stand properly. "Ruby!" she shouted, scared for her little sister. She was worried, and blamed herself for taking this mission. She didn't think that they'd be separated because of two kids, but with what happened in the caves, she didn't have anything to say about it. Not only that, it was taking her too long to catch up with them.

"Ruby!"

Blake winced as she walked with Yang, dong her best to hide her wounds from her partner. She had enough to worry about with Ruby buying them time. She can't risk worrying Yang more and having all the Grimm attacking them.

"Ruby!?" Yang huffed, looking at Blake. "Blake?" She only now noticed the limp in her step. "You… You're hurt?"

"Don't worry about me." Blake hissed. "We need to find Ruby. She's taking too long to catch up to us and we didn't get that far."

Yang bit her lip, trying to keep her emotions in check. What kind of partner was she for worrying and pushing Blake like this?

"Ruby's fine." A familiar voice called to them. The bumbleby duo looked up and saw a white hooded, cloaked figure walking towards them with Ruby asleep and cradled in their arms.

"Ru—" Yang was about to run towards her but stopped when she recognized who she was. "You… you actually came back?"

The hooded figure glanced back and placed Ruby into Yang's arms. "Head back to the village, take shelter in one of the houses, and do not leave. I'll be back soon." She ordered as she summoned a knight, ordering it to watch and protect them until she returned.

Yang wanted to be angry. She wanted to talk to the figure more, but with those kids around… "What are you planning? There's no Grimm here, just some kids wanting to kill hunters!"

"She's right, we can't hurt these people, no matter how much they want to hu—" Blake added but was stopped when a hand was raised.

"I already took care of the fake mayor of the village, as well as the two teenagers that were attacking Ruby. There were some Grimm around and I took care of them. It shouldn't take me more than fifteen minutes to patrol around to make sure everything will be safe. Now go before your wounds worsen." The figure pulled out her weapon and Blake realized who it was.

"W-Weiss…?"

Yang gritted her teeth as Weiss' knight picked them up and started to head back towards the village. "You better come back! Don't you dare die and leave us again!"

Weiss didn't say anything back to her. All she did was summon another knight and looked at it, giving it the order to keep the village safe while she did a quick patrol around the area. She should be fine.

_Don't you dare die and leave us again!_

Since when did Yang care again? Frowning at the thought, she shook her head. ' _No. Finish their mission first, then we could probably talk about it later. The least I can do is spend the last remaining time that Ruby has with her.'_

* * *

Yang gritted her teeth, glancing at Ruby who was still unconscious and sleeping away on the bed, then turned her attention back toward Blake as she treated her leg. "Does that feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks." Blake nodded and frowned as she looked at Yang. "Let's get you treated too. You took a hard hit."

"I could take worse…" Yang huffed, more worried about Ruby and Blake than herself.

Blake frowned at the reaction and moved closer to her, placing both her hands onto the brawler's face so that she could look her eye to eye to get her point across. "Yang, this isn't your fault. There's no way that you would've known that this could've happened. You just wanted to increase the number of Grimm we could've fought because you thought that Ruby would be ready. She was, but we just weren't prepared for the fake mission report."

"But you two were hurt, and now Ruby's unconscious. I don't know how injured she is, and I pushed you to help me walk without noticing how injured you were." Yang clenched her fists tightly. "Not to mention, we were lucky that  _she_  came back…"

"What would you have done if I had not come back?"

The bumbleby duo looked towards the door as the knight guarding it slowly faded away, and saw the white cloaked figure standing by the door.

"Weiss…" Yang narrowed her eyes. Blake looked between them and held onto Yang's arm to keep her calm.

"How's Ruby?" Weiss asked, not moving from where she was. She knew that Yang would be upset with her, but she didn't know how Blake would react as well.

"She could've been better if you came back with me years ago!" Yang gritted her teeth.

Blake frowned, shaking her head. She was conflicted. Sure, Yang had a point, but she needed to hear Weiss' side of the story before making any judgment of her own. "Weiss." She looked at her before looking back at Yang. "Thank you for helping us."

Weiss didn't expect that reaction but just nodded, looking towards the bed where Ruby laid. "…How…" She bit her lip, unsure of how to ask how much longer Ruby had to live.

"She'll be fine. You helped her from those kids." Blake reassured Weiss as she bandaged Yang's side.

"That's not…" Weiss sighed, shaking her head and kept her face hidden from the others. "I'll accompany all of you back to wherever you're staying, then I'll leave."

"Do you think we're just some sort of escort mission?" Yang glared at her, the anger coming back full force. "We need you, Weiss! We needed you years ago! From before you disappeared!"

Weiss didn't bother meting Yang's gaze, knowing how angry she was and regretting coming back at all.

"Answer me, damn it!" Yang was about to get up but Blake kept her down, and the trio looked towards the bed when Ruby started stirring awake.

"Mmm… M-Mom…?" Ruby groaned as she rubbed her head.

"Ruby!" Yang moved towards her sister's side with Blake's help. "Hey there, how are you feeling?" She forced a smile, ruffling her hair a bit.

Ruby just groaned and swatted her hand away, propping herself up onto her elbows. "Did… how did we get away from Jade and Grey?" She blinked when looking at Yang's expression, then looked at Blake who just nodded towards the door.

"We had… some help."

Ruby looked at the white-cloaked figure by the door and sat up immediately. "Mom?! It really is yo-OW!" she winced as she held onto her head. "H-How… owie."

Weiss blinked as Yang and Blake rushed towards her side, making sure that Ruby was alright. She wanted to join them, but held back. Yang didn't approve of her after all, no matter how much she wanted to make sure that Ruby was safe herself.

"Ruby, do you really remember mom now?" Yang asked gently, placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"I… uh… Yeah." Ruby looked at Weiss, frowning a bit when she realized that she wasn't who she originally thought she was. "I-I'm sorry. You're wearing the same cloak as my mom, so I mistook you as her. Who are you?" Ruby laughed nervously, scratching her the back of her head sheepishly. "Oh! And thanks for saving us! …Y-You did save us right? I don't remember much after passing out earlier."

"Yes, I did." Weiss didn't take off her hood just yet, not wanting to show her face. Ruby didn't seem to recognize her, and she didn't know if that was a good thing or bad thing. Though she had to apologize to Yang later for not taking her seriously about Ruby not remembering anyone or anything.

"Thank you so much!" Ruby smiled brightly at her then blinked, staring at her. "Wait… you didn't hurt those kids, did you?! Please tell me that you didn't! They didn't do anything wrong! Ok, well they did try to kill us, but still! We don't hurt people!"

Weiss blinked then looked away, fiddling with the cloak a bit. "I didn't. I just made sure that they wouldn't follow us. They're still alive and my summons are keeping them safe." She sighed and looked at them. "We should leave soon. We're not welcomed here." Weiss then looked at the trio. "And we need to have someone take a look at you three."

"Why do you want someone to look at us? We're fine." Yang huffed as she crossed her arms.

"If you really were fine, you wouldn't have needed my help to escape from two amateur teenagers." Weiss narrowed her eyes. "What did you three do? What's the mission that you were assigned here for?"

They looked at each other before Ruby looked at Weiss. "We were supposed to eradicate the Grimm here. On the way we met Grey and Jade, who lead us into a cave then… there's these weird tree branches that touched us and we fell asleep… The next thing we knew, we were drained when we woke up."

"Was that all?" Weiss frowned, thinking of what kind of Grimm would do something like that. She could probably call Winter or Professor Ozpin to see if they knew anything about it.

"Oh, they called it 'Flora-Sleep' or something like that." Ruby added as she looked at Weiss, interested to see what she knew about the Grimm. "How did you know where to find us anyways? Were you also called to help with this kind of mission?"

Weiss looked at Yang, unsure of how to answer her second question, and looked away when Yang started to explain it to Ruby.

"She's an old…" Yang hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say herself before continuing. " _Acquaintance_ of ours. She knows how to fight Grimm, and we used to train together."

Blake gave a small smile and glanced at Weiss who gave a shocked expression for a moment before hiding her face again. "Yang called her to see how she was doing earlier, and she happened to be in the area. We didn't expect her to follow us on this mission though."

Was that a good enough cover up? Did Yang want to tell Ruby that she called Weiss back? Blake didn't know what Yang was going to do now that Weiss was here and it worried her. She could tell that her partner was annoyed, but at the same time somewhat relieved that they were able to get out safely. She looked at Weiss who just seemed a bit uncomfortable, which was understandable. Blake made a mental reminder to talk to her later. She looked at Ruby and she just looked excited to meet another Huntress.

"If you're done with your questions, we should head back to Vale. We can't stay here any longer. Those teenagers and that mayor dislike Hunters and Huntresses, and their anger and restlessness are going to attract Grimm." Weiss advised as she looked out the window.

"Can I ask what you know about the Flora-Sleep Grimm on the road if you know anything about it? And can you tell me about yourself? I haven't heard anything about you until now!" Ruby grinned as she stood up but stumbled into Yang's arms. "O-Oops… I guess I'm still a little tired from earlier… hehe…" she laughed nervously as Yang steadied her to her feet.

"If the name suggests…" Weiss started, thinking about it as she watched Blake pack their things while Yang stayed close to Ruby. "Was there a sweet smell near this Grimm?"

"Now that you mention it…" Ruby thought about it. "There was! I went to find out where that sweet smell was coming from then…" She frowned as she held onto Yang's arm. "We were captured by some tree branches and… lost consciousness for a while."

Weiss frowned. "How did you get out of it?" She crossed her arms, wishing that she had gotten there sooner to help them in time. But even if she did, she most likely would've been captured as well and just been a burden on them… like always.

"I… someone came and told me to wake up, then there was a bright light and… those tree branches went away. That's all I remember besides feeling exhausted after waking up." Ruby frowned then looked at Yang and Blake if they had more to say.

"The tree branches seemed to be alive, and once they're around you, you fall asleep almost instantly. They do hate fire though." Blake added.

"What Grimm do you think it is?" Yang looked at Weiss.

"Assuming from the name, it's a parasitic-plant type Grimm that lures its victims to deep sleep with a sweet smell. Other than that, I'm not completely sure. I haven't heard of a Grimm like that." Weiss sighed. "I apologize for not being able to help."

"It just means that it's a rare Grimm. We haven't heard anything about it either." Blake quickly added, not wanting Yang to say anything.

"Right…" Weiss looked at them before looking outside again. "We should really get going now. We can talk on the way back. It'll be quicker and much more efficient."

"Oh, that's right!" Ruby made sure that she had everything and was glad to see that her weapon was nearby. She looked at Yang and Blake to make sure that they had everything as well and nodded towards Weiss. "I think that we're all set, uh…" She paused, missing one crucial detail. "Uhm… What's your name?"

Right… should she be honest about this or… She looked at Yang and Blake who just looked back at her, curious to know what she'd say, then sighed. Might as well tell the truth…

"Weiss. My name is Weiss Schnee."

"Schnee? As in the Schnee Dust Company, Schnee?" Ruby looked at her in shock.

"That is correct." Weiss was uncomfortable. She was well aware of what her father did before, but she didn't know what the others thought of the new SDC that she worked so hard to recreate.

"The old president is a jerk, but I would love to meet the new president." Ruby grinned. "I'd like to thank them personally for all the dust! After Yang and Blake gave me that dust, I was able to come up with some amazing new combos!"

Weiss looked at Yang and Blake, surprised that they told Ruby a bit about the dust. Yang just walked past Weiss with Ruby who whined about wanting to talk to her more, and Blake just gave her a comforting smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"We're glad to have you back, Weiss. Even if you're just here to visit."

"R-Right…" Weiss nodded weakly, still unable to find the courage to ask how long Ruby had, and just followed them back to Vale. She mentally prepared herself for the hordes of questions Ruby most likely had for her and how she could carefully answer her.

Ruby glanced between everyone, unsure of why there was this awkward atmosphere between them. She made a mental note to ask Yang and Blake if they actually liked Weiss or not, the latter seeming like she did, and wanted to ask if Weiss wanted to spend time with her later.

Yang glanced at Ruby, seeing the look on her face and sighed. "Ruby, when we're back… we need to talk."

"Uh… ok…?" Ruby raised a brow, unsure of how to feel about that, and led the way down the mountain, wanting to talk to Weiss first about dust because she had  _a lot_  of questions for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How long can Yang keep up the lie? Will they really answer Ruby's questions and have a proper talk? Thank you for reading!
> 
> Thanks Dying_Inside and Dragonqueen1993 for the reviews. What happened will be revealed in the later chapters ;) See you all next time!


	7. Past from Yang

"Hey, Yang… I…I think I like Weiss…" Ruby blushed as she admitted it to me.

I gave her a look. Was she serious? I did notice the signs of her sticking with the Ice Queen for a good while now, but I didn't expect them to be signs of affection. But seeing how serious as she was, and knowing her shyness to even admit this to me, I couldn't help but tease her a bit to calm her down.

"Oh? My little sister is finally growing up!" I smirked and grabbed her into a headlock to ruffle her hair a bit. "So you and the Ice Queen, huh? I didn't think that she was your type. With all those icicles and all she keeps spewing out."

"One, she's not always spewing out icicles! She's nicer than you give her credit for!" She huffed and broke free from my arms. "And two…" Now she looked almost afraid of me. "Y-You're not… mad?"

Wait… what?

"Rubes, why would think that I'd be mad at you for liking Weiss?" I raised a brow. What would make her think such a thing anyways?

"Well… you don't really get along with her that much…"

What?

"And I didn't know how I really felt. I've never felt this way about her before." Ruby looked down again. I guess she was trying to hide her blush, or was she trying to hide her shame for not talking to me about this earlier?

Scratching the back of my head, I thought about Weiss.

Sure we don't really get along that well, but there were times where we were fine! But I guess those were the times when Ruby and Blake weren't there, so they probably wouldn't believe it unless they saw it… I guess I can see why Ruby was nervous about this now.

I'm pretty overprotective of her, and since I don't always get along with Weiss that well, she thought that I'd disapprove immediately.

"Ruby, you're your own woman. Who you like is none of my business. The only thing that I ask for is that you two love each other." Now I was giving her a serious look as I crossed my arms. "Buuuuut if she hurts you in any way, you can bet that there's no way that I'll forgive her. Even with all her lien to bribe me."

I was being serious about that. Weiss better not hurt her in any way. Though knowing the Ice Queen, the chances of that were low, so I shouldn't have to worry too much about it.

"Should I give you some tips or something?" I offered then thought about it. "Or better yet… why not ask Jaune about it? He's trying to figure out how to ask out Pyrrha. Maybe you two can figure out something together?" There was nothing wrong with that right? Besides, they were both team leaders. It was only natural for them to talk about pretty much anything if they couldn't talk to their friends and partners.

"I dunno…" She thought about it, almost as if she were unsure. "Do you think that  _Jaune_  would have a good idea? I mean, it's not like he's a bad guy or anything, but…"

"Yeah, I get it. Unless you want my advice and just tell her straight out…" Ruby gave me a look then sighed in defeat, causing me to grin. "Alright, so here's what you wanna do… Tell her a few things. Like 'Hey Weiss! I missed you snow much! Let's chill together!' when you greet her. Then, knowing her, she'll give you a look and you'll just say 'Aww don't give me the cold shoulder! You don't like my puns? How cold of you.' And she'll  _love_  it." I grinned.

"…Are you sure that this will really help?" She looked almost scared.

I thought about it then gave her a soft smile, placing a hand onto her shoulder. Weiss and I might not get along, but I've seen how Weiss treated Ruby. There was no way that she could reject her, right?

"You'll be fine, sis. Hell, if everything goes wrong you can go talk to Jaune. Maybe you two can help each other." I sighed, still thinking of how to help Ruby. As much as I wanted to help her, I was pretty sure that she wouldn't need any other help.

* * *

_I'm going to kill Weiss._

That was the thought that went through my mind when Ruby practically came back in tears and explained what happened that day. The date that Jaune helped arrange for her didn't go well. I expected that because it was Jaune. But then Ruby said she felt that Weiss was pushing her way and said 'I hope things go well with him' to end the day, which left Ruby with a bad impression that Weiss didn't like her. Heck, Weiss was nowhere to be seen until the next morning.

Ruby held onto my arm and stayed with me the entire time to make sure that I didn't do anything to the Icy Bitch, but I still kept glaring at her whenever we were in the same room. Even in class.

Blake told me to chill out a few days after she talked with Weiss. Whatever they talked about, Blake wouldn't share what it was with me, but I still had to ask her.

"What the hell was Weiss thinking? Ruby likes her! Why would she reject her like that!?" I growled as I punched my fists together.

"Love isn't as simple as you think it is, Yang." Blake sighed as she looked up at me.

I frowned and leaned against the bed. "And what makes you say that? Don't you dare say that you can't tell me because of your talk with Weiss. This is about Ruby, of course I have the right to know even if she is her own woman." I sighed. Sure I sounded a bit… overprotective. And I can be when it comes to Ruby, but I still wanted to know at least  _why_  Weiss would be avoiding her now.

"I'm sure you know that Weiss  _does_  care for Ruby, even though… what happened doesn't really seem like it." Blake looked at me. "Simply put, she thinks that Ruby is too good for her, so she doesn't deserve her."

"Are you kidding me?" I gritted my teeth. That's really a stupid reason for Weiss to dump my sister like that. Sure they had their own lives, but hurting Ruby? I needed to have some words with Schnee.

"Yang."

I scowled and looked at Blake who gave me a serious look, or at least I think it was serious.

"Don't. Let them figure it out on their own. They usually make up sooner or later." She said as she went back to her book.

I just pouted at her. Why did she have to be so mature about this?

"Fine… I'll give them a few days. If they don't make up within that time, I'm talking to Weiss." I huffed then had a small blush when she rested her head onto my shoulder.

"Good."

* * *

Of course we had a mission to go on when I finally had the chance to talk to Weiss. She was suddenly avoiding us these last few days, even more so than she did for the past month.

She avoided our gazes, but whenever Ruby called out a team attack that involved her, she still performed perfectly.

I was watching her and it looked almost as if… she wanted Ruby to call her more for team attacks or something. I know that she usually pretends that nothing bothers her, but there was something very clearly bothering her lately, and she was using these missions to distract her aside from studying and training. Doesn't she trust us to help her with her problems? We trusted her with our own, after all!

Getting irritated, I planned what I wanted to say in my head. There's no use talking to her now while we were on a mission. Even though she's the queen of multitasking, she's not the queen of handling stress well. We just had to destroy a Nevermore's Nest here in Atlas for some reason, and we don't need to be attracting more Grimm around and endangering ourselves more than we needed to.

So far the mission was going well. Thanks to Ruby's plan and Weiss's glyphs, we were able to clear out the nest rather easily, but then things quickly went downhill.

Just as I was about to tell Weiss that I wanted to talk to her, the ground shook and a couple King Taijus and Deathstalkers came out of the ground. I glanced at Ruby to make sure that she was ok and saw Weiss keeping her steady, before moving away from her side and into her fighting stance.

What the hell was up with that? I know that they haven't made up due to their reactions, but no teammate looks at one another with  _that_  look in their eyes.

Did they make up and just acted this way to confuse us? No, Ruby wouldn't be able to hide things that easily. And during this entire mission, Weiss seemed… off. She wasn't this off on the other missions before.

I looked at Blake who just gave them a sad look. What the heck was that all about? First Weiss and now Blake? I know those two were the more introverted of the group, but still! I ran a hand through my hair in frustration and punched my fists together. I swear they better give a good explanation after this mission was over.

But didn't get that explanation. I didn't get that talk with Weiss either.

During the fight, we were separated. I don't know how far we separated but I found my way towards Blake. We both nodded, knowing that finding our teammates and surviving were the top priority right now, and we ran towards the agreed meeting spot in case we got lost.

Even though we'd never use the meeting spot whenever we are separated, it was a just in case thing that Weiss insisted and Blake agreed with her. No one ever knows what would happen during the mission, after all.

We ran there as fast as we could, destroying a small pack of beowolves on the way and looked around. No sign of Ruby or Weiss.

I bit my lip, feeling a bit anxious for some reason.

"Yang. Calm down. Weiss wouldn't let anything happen to Ruby, even if…" Blake trailed off and I shot her a look.

"Blake, did you figure out what's going on with Weiss?" I clenched my fists. Why was it that I was the last one that figured anything out when it came to our team? Was I really  _that_  unreliable?

"I…" Blake took my hand and ran her thumb over my knuckles in a soothing motion.

I raised a brow at her, wondering why she was doing that in the first place and nodded for her to continue what she wanted to say earlier.

"…I think… her father." I saw her cat ears folding and I frowned.

"You mean… she… all this time?" I think we all knew that Weiss had a horrible relationship with her family, but we didn't know  _how_  horrible.

Heck, the only one that she talked about in a positive light, if anything, was her older sister Winter. We all barely knew that she had a brother while she talked to me about how Blake wanted to protect us and left for a while. Who knows what other family members she had or if they even cared enough about her.

Now it made sense why she would avoid us like that. We had a great, if not alright, relationship with our family. Weiss is a very private person and doesn't discuss her family life with any of us. We never asked her, but the very few times she had a call from him before, it wasn't that great. She was colder and almost afraid to talk to us for some reason.

Damn it. Now I feel bad for being such a bitch to her.

"I… overheard some stuff and she sounded… angry and sad. Angry that her father was telling her to go back home when she didn't want to. Sad that… she sounded like she didn't want to leave us." Blake's hand shook as she held onto mine and I pulled her into my arms to calm her down.

"Ok… fine… but let's find them first. We'll deal with Weiss after we made sure that they're safe."

Blake nodded against my shoulder and I saw her ears twitch.

"Blake? What is it?" I frowned and let her go, watching her look around and followed her ears.

"I think I hear them. This way!" She ran in a direction and I followed after her.

We ran and saw some destroyed trees. Was a deathstalker running after them?

"WEISS!"

My eyes widened. That was Ruby yelling. Something must've happened because there was a bright white light coming from their direction.

I covered my eyes until the light faded, then ran after Blake. We both stopped once we finally found the last two of our teammates and gasped in shock.

Ruby was laying on the ground, unconscious. Thankfully she didn't look like she was too injured, but Weiss…

There we saw her arm laying a few feet away, and she was laying in a pool of blood. Her white hair and clothes were stained with her blood.

Quickly snapping out of it, I ran towards Ruby while Blake ran towards Weiss, tying her arm so that she could at least slow down the blood from flowing. I gave her a nervous look and sighed in relief when Blake nodded her head as she cradled Weiss in her arms.

Weiss was still alive. But we needed to get them to the hospital quickly.

I carried Ruby into my arms as Blake carefully carried Weiss. We both ran quickly and called for the airship. I bit my lip, feeling anxious as Blake applied some healing dust onto her arm. Was that going to work? Weiss looked so much paler than she usually did and it was starting to get me and Blake worried.

I don't know how much time passed, but the airship finally came and we quickly boarded while telling the pilot to take us to the nearest hospital.

I looked at Blake who still kept Weiss close to her, I guess trying to keep her body warm, and I gritted my teeth. All that we could do right now is wait, but would they be alright? I sat down and looked at Ruby, wondering what the hell happened. Weiss was injured, but Ruby didn't looked like she had that many injuries. Did Weiss protect her? That was the only explanation.

I snapped out of my thoughts when the pilot said that we reached the hospital and I jumped out holding onto Ruby while Blake came out carefully with Weiss. We took them to the emergency room and watched the doctors take them away.

Blake and I explained what we knew and hoped that Weiss and Ruby would be alright. Sighing, I moved towards the waiting room, pacing while Blake folded her hands and looked down at the floor.

I stopped for a moment then looked at Blake, thinking of a conversation to get our minds off any negative news we might receive, and I placed a hand onto her shoulder.

"Y-Yang…?" She looked at me, unsure of what to think as well.

"They're…" Were they really going to be alright? I shook that thought out of my head and pulled on Blake's arms. "Come on. We should… get cleaned up. We might worry them more if they wake up and see what a mess we are." I forced a grin, trying to lighten the mood, but I didn't want to see Weiss's blood on my partner anymore. I didn't want to think that anything bad would happen to them.

They were strong. There was no way that they were going to die.

"R-Right… they'll be a while before we can see them anyways." Blake agreed with me and we walked towards our new house.

Thankfully Beacon gave us a house until we can start paying it off ourselves.

About an hour later of showering and changing our clothes, we went back towards the hospital and frowned when we couldn't see Ruby or Weiss just yet and took a seat in the waiting room again.

Blake placed a hand on my shoulder and we saw a doctor coming up towards us.

"Are you two part of Team RWBY?"

I nodded. "What happened to my sister and her partner?"

The doctor gave us a frown and I didn't like that.

"What happened to Ruby and Weiss?"

"Miss Schnee… I'm afraid that I can't tell you anything about her anymore. SDC's orders. As for Miss Rose, you're not going to like what I am about to tell you."

We can't hear anything about Weiss? What? I looked at Blake and sighed at the look she gave me. Ok, fine. Learn about Ruby first then we can whine about Weiss later.

"What happened to Ruby?"

"It might be faster for you to see for yourself." The doctor lead us towards a room, and there I saw Ruby sitting up, but looking blankly towards the window.

"Ruby!" I exclaimed happily and was about to hug her, but stopped when she gave me that blank, confused look.

"…Who… are you?"

Dear Oum, please tell me that I'm dreaming.

* * *

Yang reopened her eyes and rubbed her head. ' _Where…?_ ' She looked around then remembered that they were back home in Vale. They were awake the entire time on the way home from their last mission, then as soon as they got home, they were taken to the hospital. After that they did some examinations to make sure that they were physically alright… Ozpin showed up to talk to them for a bit then they were sent home the next day.

' _Home… Wait, is she…?!_ '

Jumping up from the bed and immediately regretting it from how dizzy she felt, she scrambled to her feet.

There was one thing Yang wanted to be sure of before she could relax.

As soon as she left the room and stumbled down the stairs, she saw some coffee was made. It didn't look like it was used that long ago either. Yang ran towards the bathrooms, the other rooms, then finally checked outside where she saw Weiss training. Sighing in relief, Yang started to move towards her, not wanting to scare the smaller woman away but was curious to see what she was doing.

She saw Weiss summon a knight, then stared at it for a moment before she started to fight it. Just from watching her, Yang noticed that her fighting style had changed quite a bit, and thought about sparing with her later to confirm her thoughts.

A few minutes later, Weiss was breathing heavily, then looked back when she finally noticed Yang watching her.

"Hey uh… You…" Yang didn't know what to say. She was sure that Weiss would've just left them once she made sure that they were fine. "You actually… stayed?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And finally some past stuff is revealed! Sorry that took so long, was planning something else but talked it over with my editor and had to change some stuff around. Also sorry for this formatting. Wanted to see if seeing things from the past from a specific person's POV would work better or not. Hoped that this was alright though! 
> 
> Thanks Dragonqueen1993, DrGairyuki, and Dying_Inside for the reviews! See y'all next time!


	8. Secret's Out

_Trembling red hands were holding a young woman, covered in a red cloak._

" _N-No… No… please…" She begged and held her close. "D-Don't… don't leave… please…!"_

" _We…iss…?"_

" _Y-Yeah? You're going to be ok! So stay with me…! Please…!"_

" _You're not…_ him…  _you didn't… want me… just leave."_

" _R-Ru…?"_

" _I never loved you. No one ever loved you. You're alone. You deserved it."_

* * *

Weiss jolted up from the couch and gripped her arm tightly. She gasped for air for a moment, then bit her lip so that she wouldn't make a sound.

' _It's just a dream. It's just a dream."_  She tried to calm her breathing as she glanced around her, recalling where she was and hoped that it wasn't just an illusion. " _They're all safe now. I just saw them a few hours ago._ ' She told herself and pressed her face onto the couch.

It felt like hours, but the pain in her arm finally started to subside and she slowed her breathing.

Weiss slowly pulled herself away from the couch and pulled out her scroll to look at the time. Sighing when she saw that it was just four in the morning, she decided to get up to train for a little while. Maybe it'll help her get to sleep after the few hours of looking up the Grimm that Ruby and the others were fighting the other day. Even though Professor Ozpin told her a bit about them while the others were at the hospital getting checked.

From what he told her and she could find, it was just rumors or legends of what that Grimm could do. Luring unsuspecting victims with a sweet smell, and once it grabs hold of them, the victims falls into deep sleep. While they slept, they are unable to wake up no matter what, unless the Grimm is destroyed via fire. Anyone that survives this Grimm will be exhausted anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on how much energy the Grimm drained from them.

Weiss sighed in relief when Ruby and the others came out fine and they were released the next day, but they shouldn't be doing any missions for a while. That much she was certain about.

Though she did wonder, how did they escape in the first place?

Weiss walked outside towards the backyard and started to summon her usual knights, using them to fight against each other. Weiss knew that it wouldn't be that great of a training exercise, but she just needed something to distract herself.

She closed her eyes and imagined how her knights should fight while she slowly increased one's offensive abilities while the other had more defenses. Maybe visually imagining the sword breaking through the defenses or a shield stopping the sword could help her concentrate, and she could possibly use it in future fights. Weiss highly doubted that a childish thought like that would work in a real battle, but for training? As long as she pushed her summons to the limit, as well as her aura, she didn't care.

After an hour of making her summons fight each other, they both disappeared into tiny crystals. Weiss panted heavily and decided to make some coffee for a short break before going back to training or studying more about the Grimm that Ruby and the others faced a couple days ago.

She headed to the kitchen and started brewing a pot. Since it would take a while, she decided to go back to her training while she waited. She didn't want to just sit still. The dream was haunting her still.

Weiss gripped her weapon tighter and summoned her knight, staring it down and closing her eyes, focusing on giving it more defenses so that she could see how hard she could hit it.

For a moment, she thought about using her aura to increase her speed and offense, but decided against it. She remembered using it a few times before when she was training with Flame, but it always ended with her being exhausted in bed for the next few days. That was the last thing that Weiss needed right now. Who was going to watch over Ruby and the others?

Shaking that thought out of her head, she looked at her knight who looked ready to take any attacks that she could come at it with. Weiss switched her Myrtenaster to her right hand and created glyphs with her left. It still felt awkward, but she managed to create her normal glyphs, as well as able to stab and thrust with her non dominant hand.

Weiss panted heavily as her knight started to fade away, then nearly jumped when she noticed Yang watching her.

"Hey uh… You… you actually… stayed?"

Weiss frowned and looked away. If Yang was up, then Blake and Ruby wouldn't be too long after her.

"Weiss…?" Yang was conflicted. She wanted to shout. She wanted to punch her, but at the same time she was thankful that she was staying. Even if the reason why she's staying was based on a lie.

"Would you like pancakes? I'm not sure if I can make it like we used to before." Weiss forced herself to avoid Yang's gaze, unsure if she could even look at her right now. She walked into the house, wiping her sweat with her sleeve.

"The pancake mix and chocolate chips are on the shelf above you… You should go shower or something first. We won't be going anywhere soon." Yang frowned and took her seat, still feeling exhausted. She looked up and saw Blake making her way to the seat next to her. "Morning, Blake."

"Morning, you two…" Blake looked at Weiss then at Yang, her ears folding from the heavy tension in the air.

Weiss excused herself, taking Yang's advice to take a quick shower. Now there was an awkward silence between Yang and Blake. The only sounds they could hear were Weiss in the shower and Ruby leaving the room.

"Mm… Morning guys…" Ruby yawned as she walked into the room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, then blinked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We're fine." Yang huffed and looked away.

Blake frowned and got up to make herself some tea, surprised to see that there was a cup ready for her already and took it. She took a tentative sip and gave a soft smile. Weiss remembered how she liked her tea. The Faunus glanced at the other cups set aside and assumed that they were for Yang and Ruby, and walked towards the table to give the cups to the respective person.

"Thanks, Blake." Ruby smiled nervously, worried about the cup of coffee and took a slow sip, which then soon turned into a full gulp. "How did you know that I liked my coffee like this?"

"It wasn't me." Blake gave a weary smile and glanced at Yang who just sipped her coffee while deep in thought.

"Who…" Ruby paused to think about it. If it wasn't Blake, was it Yang? No, she looked too annoyed for some reason. Then her mind drifted to their guest from the last few days. Weiss. "How did Weiss know that I liked my coffee like this…?" She mumbled to herself.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Blake chimed as she saw Weiss walking back in, fixing the sleeve on her left arm and putting on a glove.

"Weiss!" Ruby smiled as she ran towards her, stopping just before she crashed into the older woman. "Thank you so much for the coffee! But how did you know that I liked my coffee like this? It tastes amazing!"

Weiss stepped back, forgetting how close Ruby liked to be to her sometimes, and glanced at Yang and Blake before looking back at Ruby. "I uh… I remembered… that Yang mentioned it before. I didn't think she was serious." She lied, but the look on Ruby's face told her that it worked.

"Really?" Ruby was surprised to hear that Yang talked about her to others like this, but didn't really care too much. This was a new friend after all! There was so much that she could learn from her!

"A-Anyways… you all must be hungry. Go wash up and breakfast will be served soon." Weiss looked at Ruby then looked away, having a hard time keeping her gaze on her.

"Uh… ok." Ruby blinked then walked towards the bathroom as Weiss entered the kitchen again and grabbed the necessary ingredients to cook the pancakes for her former teammates.

The only sounds to fill the void were the sounds of Weiss mixing the pancake mix together and cooking them once she was satisfied.

"So uh… Weiss… How have you been lately?" Blake asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit and was genuinely curious as to what Weiss was up to.

"I have been well. I believe that the three of you should be back to full strength by tomorrow. At least that's what the doctors and Professor Ozpin said. You shouldn't be doing anything too strenuous until then." Weiss set some pancakes aside as she made more.

"Weiss…" Yang frowned. "Are you just here to take care of us out of obligation?"

"Why would you think that?" Weiss turned towards her as she finished the last few pancakes.

"Because you didn't come to visit us before." Yang knew the reason why Weiss didn't, but she was blinded by her rage, so she continued to vent to her. "You just left us, for years. So why now? Just because Ruby's dying? You only decided to return because of that? If we were dying or in danger?" Yang clenched her fists.

Blake frowned and placed a hand over Yang's to calm her down. "Yang…" She warned, not wanting a fight to happen.

"I…" Weiss bit her lip and set the pancakes down onto the table before looking away from them. "I told you that I had some things to do back in Atlas."

"That doesn't really matter!" Yang slammed her hands onto the table, causing both Weiss and Blake to flinch at the noise. "We were worried about you for years! Did you even  _once_  try to check in with us or anything?!"

Weiss kept her gaze away from them, knowing that she couldn't say anything to retaliate what Yang was saying. Even after their talk a couple years before, she still couldn't find the courage to come back here.

"Say something, Weiss! Is that all that you can do for us?! Be there when we're at our last moments of our life?!" Yang stood up. "You and me. Outside now."

"Yang!" Blake stood up too but saw the look in her eyes, then frowned, looking at Weiss who just shook her head and started to walk outside with Yang. "…Don't hurt each other…" She dropped her hand then went to get towels and a first aid box in case they needed it. Blake passed by Ruby who just looked confused at what was going on, then followed her sister, watching them from a distance.

Yang punched her fists together, almost glaring at Weiss. She couldn't believe what she saw earlier about Weiss' fighting style changing, and frowned when she moved into her fighting stance. "Drop the weapon. No semblance, just hand-to-hand. It'll be quick anyways."

Weiss raised a brow. Yang knew that she had a severe disadvantage against the brawler, didn't she? Or was she counting on the fact that she was still recovering so they would be on equal footing? Shaking that thought out of her head, Weiss moved to place her weapon away before getting back into position.

"Go ahead, Ice Princess. Show me what you got!" Yang smirked. There was no way that her little punches could hurt her right? Last time they sparred, Weiss was still working on her strength.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. She lunged forward and feinted a jab with her right then side stepped to her left to give Yang a left hook. Surprised by the speed, Yang took a step back to brace for the punch then turned to catch her left hand and frowned. That didn't feel like delicate hands that she was used to.

"Wei—" Yang started but stopped when Weiss grabbed her wrist and jumped up to throw a knee strike.

Yang was surprised again by her speed and continued blocking her attacks. She may not be as fast as Ruby or strong as Blake or herself, but she certainly has changed in the last five years since she sparred with her. Some of her combination attacks surprised her, and wondered where she learned them. Now she wanted to see how well she fought on the defensive.

The brawler shoved Weiss back and started to throw punches of her own. She threw a few jabs and elbow strikes, but Weiss barely managed to dodge and block her attacks.

"Seems like our princess learned a few tricks when she was away." Yang narrowed her eyes.

"Don't call me that!" Weiss growled as she grabbed Yang's arm and elbowed her in the stomach.

Yang was surprised by that strike. Out of everything she did, that one stung quite a bit. Not only that, her arm felt… off. Frowning, she wondered why Weiss always had some type of glove and long sleeve on ever since she came back.

As much as she was genuinely surprised by how well Weiss was dodging and blocking her -even Ruby had a hard time keeping up with her, which told her that Weiss was mostly focusing on her defense and not her offense- she needed some answers from the smaller woman.

Deciding to end the sparring match here, Yang decided to put all her power into one punch.

Weiss caught on too late and instinctively chanted a glyph defensive boost to her left arm and blocked Yang's punch, sliding back a few feet before looking at her again.

"What the hell was that for?!" the shorter woman growled at Yang, holding onto her arm.

"Well you can dodge and block alright, but your punches are weak. At least your combination attacks were good. Seems more like you're more focused on countering attacks than dishing them out." Yang crossed her arms. "What happened to your arm? I'm pretty sure that you did  _something_  to it."

Weiss paled when Yang said that. "I don't know what you're talking about." She huffed, looking away from her.

"Don't give me that crap, Weiss." Yang narrowed her eyes and moved closer to her. "When I threw that punch just now, it should've broken your arm, but you still seem fine. Unless it's a prosthetic arm, you used your Aura to protect that arm… or you did something with that small glyph I saw."

"I know that we said no Semblances, but it was an unconscious react—" Weiss started but Yang was about to punch her. Reacting quickly, Weiss jumped back and saw that Yang was angry with her. Was it because she violated the 'no semblance' rule? She said that it was an unconscious reaction!

Weiss threw her arms up to guard Yang's punches and gritted her teeth as she felt herself being pushed back.

"You were always there for us whenever we needed an ear to hear our problems, yet you won't trust  _us_  with your problems? Who do you think we are to you?!" Yang grunted as she continued to punch Weiss's arms. "We're your family! We're supposed to help each other! What did you do? You just left us so you can suffer alone!"

Weiss winced and thought about throwing a defensive glyph on her arms so that she could continue taking Yang's enraged hits, but decided against it, allowing Yang to continue with venting her anger out on her.

Ruby saw what was going on and quickly opened the door in time to hear Yang yell.

"You only came back because Ruby's dying! You never cared at all for any of us, now did you?!" Yang reared her arm back and Weiss was about to lower her arms until a familiar person stood in between them.

"Yang! Knock it off!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And secret is kinda out now. Still trying to figure out the fight scenes... And Yang _does_ know what's up with Weiss, she just wants her to talk to them without forcing it out of her.
> 
> Thanks Dragonqueen1993, GrnDrgnzrd, Dying_Inside, and Vael_Walker for the reveiws.


	9. Taking a Step Back

"Yang! Knock it off!" Ruby shouted at her, glaring her down with her arms spread wide to block Weiss from her sister's vision.

"R-Ruby?" Weiss looked at her former partner, unsure of what to think, and looked past her to see that Yang had stopped her punch midway.

"Get out of the way, Ruby!" Yang growled.

"No way!" Ruby stood her ground.

Yang gritted her teeth. "She left us!"

"Yeah? Well why did you lie to her that I was dying?!" Ruby demanded. "You said that she was an acquaintance, so why are you treating her like an enemy?!"

Wait… what? Weiss blinked then looked between them. "Y-You're… That was…?"

Now Yang looked away, realizing what she did, and that the truth was out now. After a few moments, she walked back into the house and passed by Blake.

"Y-Yang? Are you—" Blake was about to ask if she was injured, but Yang just shook her head.

"Weiss is hurt, go help her." Yang plopped herself down onto the couch, knowing that Ruby wanted an explanation.

Blake looked between the trio and walked towards Weiss, taking her arms gently and frowning. "She did a number on you this time, didn't she?"

"I deserved it." Weiss looked away then let out a sound of surprise when she felt Ruby taking her hand.

"We _all_ need a talk."

Weiss bit her lip and shook her head. "With Yang still angry like that, it's best that you talk to her first. I'll follow you shortly after Blake makes sure that I didn't break anything." She looked at the Faunus, who nodded and slowly pulled off the gloves on her right arm.

Ruby looked at her prosthetic arm for a moment, wanting to ask how she got that, but shook her head. First things first, cool Yang down. After that, they can have a talk about who Weiss really was and everything that happened.

Blake checked Weiss's prosthetic arm, shaking her head at the dent that was there. "You should stop letting Yang beat you into a bloody pulp." The Faunus looked at Weiss's other arm, glad that it wasn't as injured, but it was still bruised. Blake placed some ointment onto it and wrapped it up with bandages.

"Blake…" Weiss started as she pulled her arms back. "Thank you."

"I mean what I said, Weiss. Though I understand _why_ you want to let Yang beat you up, that doesn't mean that you _should_." Blake shook her head.

"I…" Weiss sighed, unsure of what to say anymore, and held onto her arm.

"We should get inside. Yang probably cooled down a bit by now." Blake offered her hand to Weiss. "You… should explain everything to Yang at least."

"But… Ruby…" Weiss looked away from the offered hand, hesitant to take it.

Blake dropped her hand. "I can find an excuse to take her away so that you can talk with Yang. Though… I would like to have an explanation as well."

"I promise, I'll explain everything to you… Assuming that Yang doesn't beat me up again after trying to explain it all to her."

* * *

Ruby sat across from Yang, staring at her sister who just avoided her gaze, glancing outside to where Blake and Weiss were talking.

"So… are you going to explain yet?" Ruby pouted at her. "This better not be under the 'Remember Team JNPR and our family' thing. I remember them!"

"Ru—" Yang started and looked at Ruby but stopped herself. She sighed as she thought about her words. Ruby could handle the truth, right? But how was she going to know that Weiss wasn't just going to avoid them like before? How would she know that Weiss wasn't going to disappear on them? Telling the truth to Ruby was one thing, but Weiss was a different story. How was she going to know if Weiss wasn't going to run off on them?

"Yang, I'm not a little kid anymore!" Ruby growled, crossing her arms. "Really! Tell me who Weiss really is! I deserve to at least know _that_ much!" She frowned. "I know she's not _just_ an acquaintance. She… she's something more… isn't she? If she is, why did you lie to her that I was dying?! That's not really nice, you know!"

"One question at a time, Ruby." Yang sighed as she glanced outside, watching Blake checking Weiss's arms for a moment before looking back at Ruby. "Weiss is the president of the SDC now. I'm pretty sure that you know that I met with her a couple years back. Anyways, we were friends with her for years, and went to Beacon together. She was on our team... and was your partner." She sighed and crossed her arms, leaning back against the couch. Now this part was a little tricky to explain. "We went on a mission, but… we didn't know what happened to her for three years after that."

"What do you mean?" Ruby furrowed her brows. "How can she just _disappear_ for three years? It's not like she hid from you or anything, right? If she did, why would she hide from us?" She was feeling more and more confused about this and she wanted to know more. Who was Weiss? Who was she to the team?

"She didn't really disappear. The SDC lied to us. They paid the hospitals to tell us that she was dead or that they couldn't let us see her." Yang ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "And trust me, we really did look high and low for her and tried to find out why we couldn't see her. But everything that we dug up, the SDC blocked us from getting into contact with Weiss. We don't know why, so you'll have to ask her… Same with what really happened during that mission…" She sat up straight.

"…What mission?" Ruby frowned.

"The last mission we all went on… before we lost contact." Yang sighed. "We were called to clear out some Nevermores and their nest near Atlas. It was an easy job, but then there was an earthquake and… more Grimm came out, and we were separated. By the time we found you, you were on the ground unconscious and Weiss…" She looked at Ruby then looked away, shaking her head. "She lost her arm. We think that she lost it protecting you, but that's something that you should ask her."

Ruby looked at Yang in disbelief. Weiss lost her arm? And it was most likely from protecting her? She held onto her head as she tried to remember. She could barely remember Weiss's face from the past now, but nothing else. Why couldn't she remember her?!

"A-And the lie…? Why did you lie to her that I was dying…?" Ruby looked outside, seeing Weiss getting up from where she was and saying something to Blake.

"Because…" Yang sighed then looked at her sister. "She'd do almost anything for you if she could."

Ruby blinked, feeling confused about what Yang just said. "What…?"

Weiss slowly slid the door open and walked in, unsure if she really had the right to stay near her team or not.

"Ruby, I know that you want to talk to Weiss, but can you give us a few minutes? I want to talk to Weiss. Alone." Yang almost gave Weiss a glare, the latter sighing and looking at Ruby.

"But…" Ruby frowned, worried about leaving Weiss and Yang alone.

"It's just a talk." Yang tried to reassure them, but she obviously didn't want Ruby to be in the picture when she did.

Weiss sighed as she walked over, placing a hand onto Ruby's shoulder. "It'll be alright."

Ruby frowned and placed her hand over Weiss's for a moment, then left the room. Once Ruby was out of the room, Weiss sighed and looked at Yang.

"What is it now?"

* * *

Few minutes earlier.

"She really did a number on you this time, Weiss…" Blake shook her head as she rubbed some salve on Weiss's right arm. "Well, you did block it with your prosthetic arm, but it's pretty dented. You need to get that fixed."

"It's not as bad as it seems." Weiss shrugged the pain off. It did hurt, but she felt that she deserved it.

As if the Faunus read her mind, she looked at Weiss. "If you think you deserve getting beaten up by Yang, stop it."

"Compared to the last time we tried to spar in school, I'd say that I'm improving." Weiss gave a weak smile but as quickly as it appeared, it faded.

Blake frowned at the memory as she held onto Weiss's hand.

_"Holy shit, Weiss! I'm sorry!" Yang was panicking a bit as she looked at me. "Blake! Help!"_

_I sighed as I made my way towards them and took one of Weiss's arms. I frowned as I saw her bite back a flinch from the little movement._

_"How bad did I break her?" Yang looked at me. She was ready to run and look for ice packs and medicine._

_"I think her arm's broken. We should bring her to the Nurse's office." I shook my head. "How in the world did you hurt her this badly, Yang?"_

_"I asked her to teach me hand to hand and not to hold back." Weiss covered for Yang. I looked at Yang who just frowned._

_"But I still shouldn't have hit you that hard. I got carried away. I'm sorry." Yang hung her head low._

_"Apologize in the Nurse's office, we really need to make sure that Weiss can still write properly, otherwise she will kill you if she has to take makeup classes." I rolled my eyes and gave a small smile seeing how pale my partner looked at the realization._

"Luckily you could still write." Blake chuckled weakly, looking at Weiss as she snapped out of that memory.

"And that brute gave me frozen blueberry yogurt for a month because she felt bad." Weiss gave a weak smile, missing those days.

Blake kept her hold on Weiss's arm, rubbing the sore spot lightly and getting lost in her memories of when they were in Beacon.

Their smiles, their laughers, all of their mischiefs… the Faunus missed it. And she was sure that Ruby and Yang missed it even more.

"Blake?"

The cat Faunus snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see Weiss looking back at her. "You can let go of my arm now. It's nothing serious."

"What? Oh, right." Blake loosened her grip on Weiss's arm. "I mean it though, Weiss. You shouldn't let Yang beat you up because you feel guilty."

"I was testing to see how far she'd really go and how much I can take without using my aura." Weiss lied as she tested her arms. "As you can see, it wasn't that bad." She stood up. "Thank you though, for checking."

"Thank Yang. She wanted me to check you." Blake gave her a weak smile.

Weiss stiffened a bit before looking away. "It's… hard having even a small conversation with her. Especially… since she lied to get me back."

"You two can do it. You came back. That's all that we wanted." Blake placed a hand onto her shoulder. "And… we're sorry. But if we asked you the normal way, would you have came back?"

"I…" Weiss sighed, knowing that they had a point. It was more likely that she would've just ignored them and she would've just stayed in Atlas, burying herself with work.

"Weiss, we're sorry…" Blake frowned as her ears folded. "If there was any other way, we wouldn't have lied to you like this. But, you didn't really give us much of a choice."

Weiss sighed deeply and covered her face with her right hand. "No… I really should've came back sooner. It's just… hard."

"I understand. Just… give Yang and Ruby an explanation. They deserve that much." Blake gave her a weak smile then made sure everything was in the medical box before closing it. She looked up to see Weiss hesitantly entering the room and sighed. When did they stop being a family? When did things go wrong?

Blake closed her eyes as she thought of what could've been the start.

_"Father, I—" Weiss sounded distressed. There was a muffled man's voice responding to her. "I said that I refuse! I will not be returning to Atlas after graduation! I… my team still needs me… here…" Weiss's voice grew softer as she said that._

_I frowned. She sounded so sure of herself at first, but at the end… what was that supposed to mean? Why did she sound so unsure now? Did something happen between Weiss and Ruby? I continued to think of possibilities of why she would avoid us and sound so unsure like that, but only one thing came to mind._

_Her father._

_Once her call ended, I slowly entered the room._

_"Who's ther—B-Blake?" Weiss looked scared. It was almost as if I wasn't supposed to hear what she was talking about or who she was talking with._

_"Weiss, who were you talking to?" I asked as calmly as I could. Was that why she was avoiding us? I did notice that she was being secretive whenever she had phone calls lately, but it was from her father?_

_"No one important." She pocketed her scroll and held onto her arm. She was lying._

_I frowned at how Weiss was making herself seem smaller. We all knew that she was the shortest member, but she had one of the biggest hearts on the team. She was warmer than when we first met, but now? She almost seemed to have reverted back to how she was then. No, she somehow seemed worse than the first time we met._

_"Weiss, if you need help…" I started, unsure of what to really say but she just shook her head._

_"Don't tell Yang and Ruby. Especially Ruby. I know what I'm doing." With that, she walked past me. I turned to grab her hand to stop her, but she bolted out of the door._

_"Weiss…"_

"Blake?"

Blake looked up and saw Ruby looking at her with concerned eyes. "Uh… you've been out here for a while now. Is… everything ok?"

"F-Fine." Blake shook the memories out of her head. Maybe this time, Weiss could open up to them and tell them her side of the story. Just as she was about to get up she heard her leader speaking.

"Blake, Yang and Weiss are talking right now." Ruby pouted as she sat down on the edge of the porch, swinging her legs in annoyance.

"They kicked you out?" Blake raised a brow and looked up before taking a seat next to the younger woman. "…Do you have any questions?"

"So Weiss really is the new president of the SDC? How did we become friends with her?" Ruby looked up at Blake, wanting to know more about their relationship. Was it just business? Or was there something more to it? She had a feeling that there was something more, and that Yang was hiding something from her again.

"We… were friends with her for years, but we didn't know that she took over as president until two years ago." Blake sighed, feeling Ruby's questioning stare. "We fell out of contact with each other five years ago. We went on a mission together, it went wrong, and we thought that she died."

Ruby frowned and continued to give Blake a questioning stare. "Yang said… Weiss probably lost her arm trying to protect me…"

"That sounds like something Weiss would do." Blake sighed, shaking her head.

"But… why?" Ruby felt confused about the news and held onto her head. "And why can't I remember still?"

"The doctors said that you lost your memory because of the stress and…" Blake frowned. "I guess whatever happened was traumatic… It took you awhile to remember both Yang and I, after all."

Ruby glanced back to see Yang and Weiss still talking with each other. A moment later, Yang pointed in a direction and Weiss nodded, stood up, and started to walk away. Wait!

"Weiss!" Ruby jumped up from her seat and slid the door open, rushing towards the smaller woman. "Don't go!"

Weiss jumped back in surprise when Ruby suddenly grabbed her hand and gave her a fearful look. She looked at Yang, then back towards Ruby. "I'm just going to the bathroom…"

"O-Oh…" Ruby blushed madly. "B-But promise that you're not going anywhere without us? We still need to talk…"

"I…" Weiss bit her lip. Ruby was giving her that puppy eyes pout again. With a heavy sigh, she nodded. "F-Fine…"

Ruby hesitantly let go of Weiss's hand and moved towards the couch, silently sulking and glancing down the hallway where Weiss disappeared.

"You know… if you were going to be a pouting puppy, you might as well just wait outside the bathroom door and not here on the couch." Yang smirked at her sister as Blake came in and slapped her shoulder.

"Stop teasing her, Yang. And stop hiding things from her. She deserves to know the truth. Or at least as much as we can give her."

"I told her as much as _I_ knew. Weiss is a different story." Yang narrowed her eyes and huffed. "Did you tell her as much as you could?"

Blake nodded. "As much as I remember, so we just need Weiss's side of the story."

"She's the only one that knows what happened on the mission and why I lost my memory… right?" Ruby looked at both of them, wanting to know the truth.

"Like we said, the doctors told us your memory loss was likely from the stress and a traumatic experience." Yang frowned. "She really meant a lot to you… so I guess I could see why. If the same thing happened to you or Blake…" She couldn't even finish that sentence.

"Yang?" Blake didn't like that thought, and placed a hand onto her shoulder.

Yang just sighed, not wanting to think about it. She'd probably be in the same boat as Ruby, or even worse. If anything happened to them, she didn't know what she'd do. All that she knew was that she'd most likely be lost in anger, destroying everything in sight.

"Yang." Ruby moved next to her sister and placed a hand over hers.

"What?" Yang barely looked at Ruby, she knew that she shouldn't have hidden that from her for so many years. She knew that Ruby would've been angry with her over this. But she couldn't help but hide the fact that Weiss didn't try to see them for the years she was away from her partner and sister.

"…Was that really everything that you told us?" Ruby looked at her seriously.

Blake looked at Ruby, surprised by her question, then looked at Yang who just frowned.

"Yang." Ruby stood up and glared at Yang.

"I told you pretty much everything from my side. If you want the rest of the story, you'd have to ask Weiss." Yang sighed.

"Again with the secrets… Am I really that untrustworthy just because I can't remember anything?! Because when we were on that mission, I was hurt?! Tell me, Yang!" Ruby clenched her fists tightly, so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Ruby, this isn't something that you should hear from me." Yang frowned and looked away, seeing Weiss walking back in.

"Weiss… Will you please tell me what happened that day?" Ruby turned towards Weiss, trying to stay as calm as possible.

Immediately, the CEO was uncomfortable with the sudden eyes on her and grabbed her arm out of nervous habit.

Could she tell them the truth? What should she even tell them? Biting her lip, she stayed where she was, ready to run when things became too much.

"Weiss." She looked at Blake who shook her head. "You can trust them. Things are different now."

Weiss sighed and looked at them. "I guess…" She started slowly, weighing her options. Just as she decided to tell them everything, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it. You can start telling them." Blake nodded at Weiss and walked towards the door.

"What… do you want to know?" Weiss started hesitantly, unsure of where to really start.

"Why you left, for starters." Yang huffed, looking at Weiss.

"I didn't lea—" Weiss started but was interrupted by a voice.

"Ruuuubbbyyy! Guuuuuyyysss! I'm so glad that you're all safe!" Nora practically screamed as she lunged herself at the young leader.

"Nora!" Ren scolded as he apologized for her behavior and ran over to pull her off Ruby. "We came after we heard from Professor Ozpin what had happened. I am glad that you're alright."

Yang frowned. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate that Team JNPR came to check on them, but now she knew that Weiss wouldn't talk at all and needed to keep an eye on her.

Blake walked in with Pyrrha and Jaune behind her, her ears folding when she saw Weiss moving further away from them.

Noticing what Weiss was doing, Pyrrha placed a hand onto Jaune's shoulder, then started walking towards her slowly.

"Hello again, Weiss. It's good to see you." She started gently with her usual smile.

"It's… good to see you too, Pyrrha…" Weiss nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Hoped that ya'll enjoyed! The next couple chapters will have some info of what happened before. I apologize for the wait, letting it come naturally is a pain. 
> 
> Thanks GrnDrgnzrd, DrGairyuki, SnowKuki, Dragonqueen1993, xoxoHannahxoxo, and SunshineChildx for the reviews! See y'all next time!


	10. Deal?

"Hey Ruby, since you remembered Team JNPR now, why don't you talk with them? They were our friends after all." Yang got up and patted Ruby's shoulder.

"I… but Weiss?" Ruby looked at Weiss, who looked back at them then looked at the red-haired woman walking up to her.

"She'll be fine." Yang was about to join them but Blake placed a hand onto her shoulder to stop her. "Blake?"

"Let Pyrrha handle Weiss for a bit. Just focus on keeping Nora distracted from Ruby." Blake motioned to Nora, who was about to lift Ruby and spin her around.

"H-Hey, Nora!" Yang quickly got up to save her sister.

Blake sighed in relief, then looked at Weiss and Pyrrha who just started to walk out of the room and outside. She frowned and thought of an idea, walking towards Ren. "Ren, can I ask a favour?"

"Sure, what is it?" He blinked in confusion.

"It's about Weiss…" Blake started but Ren interrupted her.

"Say no more, I'll talk to her if Pyrrha can't get through to her."

"Thank you." Blake nodded. "Now how do we distract Nora…"

They looked at the hyperactive red-head lifting Ruby into the air, so glad to see that she was alright, with Yang and Jaune trying to stop her.

"Lend me your kitchen." Ren sighed.

* * *

"You know… I'm glad to see that you're back." Pyrrha started slowly as she looked at Weiss.

Weiss bit her lip as they walked further away from the house.

"They… told me something interesting a couple years ago." She started slowly and folded her hands together. "Yang met with you in Atlas and talked with you for a little while, but you refused to come back." Pyrrha looked down for a moment then looked at Weiss who stopped walking. "Weiss… tell them…  _me_  what's on your mind, since you're so scared to tell them what's really going on." Pyrrha crossed her arms. She wasn't sure if she could get through to her. Considering that if her team, if  _Ruby_ , couldn't get through to Weiss, how could she?.

Weiss sighed as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "I  _left_  them, Pyrrha. Why should I stay when I'm unwelcome?"

"But you're  _not_. They  _want_  you here." Pyrrha frowned, unsure what she meant. "And… it's not like you left them willingly… right?"

"That still didn't change the fact that I was gone for five years." Weiss sighed. "I still haven't done  _anything_  to earn their forgiveness."

Pyrrha stayed silent, wanting Weiss to continue.

"Yes, I didn't leave willingly, but I still  _left._  It's the one thing that Yang hates the most. That I didn't even  _try_  to come back. I promised Blake that I'd change the SDC so that Faunus had equal rights when working there, and I couldn't even keep that promise. Most of the Faunus still don't trust me after everything I've done. Then there's  _Ruby_." Her voice wavered as she said her name and she shook her head, controlling her emotions. "She's happier without me here."

"Weiss, are you listening to yourself?" She was shocked. Was that really on her mind after all this time? "Everyone's happy to see you again after all this time! And… To be honest, we still want to know what happened that day. Ruby was unconscious in the hospital, but when she woke up, no one knew what happened during that fight. You were the only one with her."

Weiss bit her lip as she held onto her left arm tightly. "I don't know what happened exactly either. I… collapsed after taking a hit from the Beowolf, and the last thing I remember was a Deathstalker about to kill me."

"Weiss…" Pyrrha reached out and held onto her arm, then looked at it for a moment before looking at Weiss in realization. "Something… happened. Didn't it?"

"What makes you think that?" Weiss pulled away from Pyrrha, worried about what she was thinking.

"Your arm… it's metallic. That explains why you're wearing long sleeves and gloves. Why are you hiding it though?"

Weiss looked away, weighing the outcomes if she told the truth or not, and sighed deeply. She didn't look at Pyrrha as she explained. "Ruby doesn't need to know that I almost died trying to save her life. That's all there is to it."

"She's going to know eventually." Pyrrha frowned. "Not about what happened, but about your arm."

" _Ruby!" I gasped as I ran through the forest and saw her fighting against a dozen Beowolves._

_Ruby panted, growing more and more sluggish as she hacked her way through the Beowolves, not noticing one coming up behind her._

"She's going to ask about it and how your arm got…" Pyrrha frowned seeing how Weiss was shaking. "Weiss?" She was concerned about the white haired woman and moved closer to her. "Are you alright?"

" _Ruby!" I used the last ounce of my energy that I had left to create a white line of glyphs towards my partner. My broken Aura and personal feelings be damned! If I didn't move now, Ruby was going to die!_

_Ruby looked back in time to see the Beowolf jumping towards her and it's claws ready to slash at her body. She closed her eyes and raised her arms to protect herself in fear, feeling too tired to even try to do anything more than that, then reopened her eyes when she felt me grabbing her arm and pulling her away._

" _Wha… Wei-!" she rolled on the ground from the force of the pull and forced herself up in time to see me taking her place._

Weiss fell to her knees as she clutched her left arm, panting heavily. ' _Stop. No. It's in the past now. It's just in the past!_ '

"Weiss!" Pyrrha moved towards her side quickly and placed her hands onto her shoulders. "Weiss! You're going to be ok!" She looked up for a moment then looked back down at Weiss. "I'm going to get some help!"

Just as Pyrrha was about to get up, Weiss grabbed her arm and shook her head.

"Weiss, you're clearly in pain! I need to get Ruby and the others!"

Weiss just tightened her grip and shook her head. "T-They don't… need to know…" She gasped for air and loosened her hold on Pyrrha's arm once she was sure that she wasn't going to move.

"But you—" Pyrrha started but Weiss shook her head and interrupted her.

"I-I'll be fine… give me… a few minutes…" Weiss panted.

Pyrrha frowned, clearly not liking how in pain she seemed to be in, and placed a hand onto her shoulder. "Weiss… what happened? This isn't normal. It's like… what happened to Ruby a few years ago…"

"W-What…?" Weiss slowly calmed her breathing when Ruby was mentioned. She looked past Pyrrha and bit her lip when she thought that she saw Ruby sitting on the floor not to far from them, looking at her with concerned eyes. The same look she saw on Ruby before everything went dark.

"Weiss!" Pyrrha caught Weiss as she collapsed and lifted her into her arms, moving towards the house.

Ruby finally managed to get away from Nora, glad that she was being distracted by Ren's cooking, and went to see Pyrrha and Weiss. She frowned when she saw Pyrrha walking back with Weiss in her arms. Ruby felt a sharp pain in her chest, unsure of what she was feeling and ran out the door to see what was going on.

"What happened?"

"I… don't know. We were talking and when I mentioned her arm…" Pyrrha's eyes widened as Ruby practically grabbed Weiss away from her arms and carried the CEO herself.

"What about Weiss's arm?" Ruby looked up at Pyrrha.

"You know that she has a prosthetic arm, right?" Pyrrha frowned.

Ruby frowned and nodded slowly. "Yang… told me that she lost her arm… most likely from protecting me." She shook as she held onto Weiss closer.

Ruby only knew Weiss for a few days, so why did she have this urge to protect her? To never let Weiss out of her sight? It hurt her when Weiss wasn't by her side and she didn't know why. How important was Weiss to her?

"We should get her to a bed so she can rest properly." Pyrrha broke the silence, thinking of what she could do to help them and thought about talking to Yang and Blake about what Weiss just told her.

"R-Right…" Ruby nodded and started walking into the house, ignoring how the others were reacting to her carrying Weiss, and brought the smaller woman towards her room.

She set Weiss down onto her bed, took off her heels, and tucked her in.

"Who are you to me, Weiss…?"

* * *

Yang frowned when she saw that Ruby was carrying Weiss, then looked at Pyrrha. "What the heck happened?"

"I don't know myself. Like I told Ruby, I was talking to Weiss, mentioned her arm, and… she panicked." Pyrrha frowned. "I'm sorry, I was trying to see if she would tell me why she wouldn't come back for you. It seems as if I brought back terrible memories for her."

Blake frowned when she thought about that and looked at Yang who seemed deep in thought.

"I should go talk to Weiss." Jaune offered. "When she wakes up, I mean. There's some things that I need to explain to her."

"With the way she is now, that would not be wise." Ren advised. "You need to talk things out with Ruby still. I will talk to Weiss with Pyrrha and Blake."

"Ren, I don't think I should talk to her right now." Pyrrha shook her head. "After Weiss told me that Ruby didn't know that she almost died trying to save her, and I mentioned that Ruby would ask about her arm… she panicked."

Yang stiffened a bit when she heard and touched her prosthetic arm. ' _Could she… no. She's still scared of me right now. As much as I want to talk to her, I'm still annoyed at her and she doesn't want to open up to us no matter how hard I try to be nice._ '

"Yang…?" Blake slowly made her way towards the blonde brawler.

"What is it, Blake?" Yang grunted, snapping out of her thoughts and crossing her arms.

"It's just… do you think that Weiss had the same thing that Ruby had before? Flashbacks of that mission?" Blake bit her lip as she thought about it. It almost scared her. Ruby had herself and Yang to help her through it. Did Weiss have anyone to lean on while she was gone?

"So you think that we should be  _nicer_  to her after what she's done?" Yang raised a brow as she looked up to Blake, flinching a bit when she saw the look on Blake's face.

"I get that you're still annoyed, if not mad, at Weiss. But she's still our teammate! Ruby hasn't known her for that long, but you've seen the way she's acting around her. Ruby still cares for Weiss!" Blake stared down at Yang, wanting to know why she didn't want to get along with their white-haired teammate. "I swear, if you're acting like this because Weiss rejected Ruby, because she didn't think she was good enough for her and she refused to come back because of a promise she made to me—"

"She doesn't trust us anymore, Blake!" Yang interrupted her and stood up. "Look, as much as I want to welcome Weiss back, and I kinda sorta do for all of our sakes, Weiss is the one that doesn't want to come back and is rejecting us. It's her own goddamn choice if she leaves us again of her own free will."

"Just like how you wanted to beat her up because she rejected Ruby?" Blake stood her ground, almost glaring at her partner. "You know that Weiss would  _never_  leave or hurt us if she had a choice! It was the SDC's fault for taking her away and lying to us!"

"You don't think that I know that?" Yang glared back but her eyes weren't glowing red. Something that Blake and the others within the room missed. "Does Weiss really want to come back to us? Did she tell you that?"

"Hey, you two." Jaune placed a hand on both of their shoulders, hoping that it would calm them down. "I know that things are tense between all of you, and you all should have some sort of group therapy, but right now Ruby and Weiss aren't in a stable condition to listen to you two go at each other's throats like this."

Yang just glared at Jaune and slapped his hand off her shoulder, grunting as she sat back down on the couch while Blake sighed and walked towards the kitchen to make some tea.

Jaune sighed and gave Pyrrha a weak smile who nodded at him.

"Ya' know." Nora stuffed her face with another piece of pancake and swallowed it. "Is it that complicated?"

"What are you talking about?" Yang glared at Nora.

"Nora…" Ren warned, not wanting her to say something that could annoy their friends more than they were already.

"I mean, Weiss isn't acting all that different than when we first started at Beacon. Ok, maybe she's a bit more bitchy and anti-social, but Ruby got through to her in time. Why not wait for the same thing to happen?" Nora shrugged as she continued to eat her pancakes. Once her plate was finished she raised it towards her partner. "Can I have some more, Ren!?"

Everyone looked at Nora in disbelief. Were things really that simple to her, or was she just trying to lighten the mood? Either way, Ren just made more pancakes for her to keep her busy and placed his hand on Blake's shoulder to calm her down a bit.

"Everything will be fine eventually." He gave her a small smile.

"Right…" Blake nodded and gave a weak smile and poured some tea into two cups.

"I'll go with you to take the drinks to Ruby and Weiss." Ren offered to help, then gave a soft smile. "Weiss might be awake by now, with how much you and Yang were yelling…" He frowned a bit seeing Blake's ears fold a bit before continuing. "And Ruby needs to drink something to calm down… Is that why you made the tea?"

Blake smiled a bit and nodded, thankful that Ren was understanding, and allowed him to walk with her to take the drinks to Ruby's room. She glanced at Yang just before she disappeared into the hallway, seeing Yang in deep thought again.

' _Yang, what can I do to help you?_ '

Pyrrha caught Blake's glance at her partner, then looked at Jaune. Maybe they should have a talk with Yang while Blake took care of Ruby and Weiss.

"Yang—" Pyrrha started but was interrupted.

"I don't really want to talk about why I'm annoyed with Weiss right now." Yang grumbled as she crossed her arms. "I'm just worried about Ruby."

Jaune looked at Pyrrha and scratched the back of his head. "Yang, it's probably my fault that things didn't go well. I set Ruby up for that date before…" He had a hard time finishing that sentence.

"Look, I know that you tried to help Ruby get together with Weiss, but the princess was being stubborn, so it wasn't your fault." Yang ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

Was Weiss that insecure about herself before? Yang remembered that the smaller woman was getting stressed out from all of the exams that they had to do because it was their last year at Beacon. She tried hard not to snap at them while she was helping them study, but at the same time it seemed like she was thankful for it as it served as a bit of a distraction. Heck, now that she thought about it, without Weiss's help, Team RWBY wouldn't have graduated top of their classes. Weiss could've easily left them alone, but she always took the time to answer their questions, no matter how small they were.

"Blake won't talk to you about what you can do to help Ruby and Weiss?" Pyrrha questioned.

"We haven't talked about it. For three years, the damn SDC claimed that Weiss was dead or missing." Yang clenched a fist. "Weiss didn't know why the SDC told us that either. And she just talked about why she doesn't want to return, in her business mind. She hasn't said anything about what  _she_  wants herself."

"She  _wants_  to return like Blake said?" Jaune looked at Pyrrha.

"Hell if I know." Yang grumbled. She did know that Weiss wanted to return. She just wanted to make sure that Weiss wouldn't leave Ruby again. Even though the way she was making sure that she stayed was harsh.

"You know…" Pyrrha started, waiting for everyone's attention. "What if Weiss saw Jaune and Ruby coming up with that date plan and came to a misunderstanding?"

Jaune thought about it then looked at Yang. The brawler thought about it. Weiss never mentioned it, but what she said to Ruby would make sense.

"Yang… did Weiss say something to Ruby before? If she did, what did she say?" Jaune frowned, feeling even more regretful than before.

"Ruby told me that Weiss told her 'Good luck with him' after their date." Yang sighed deeply as she held her head in frustration. "Even for her, this was beyond stupid, even if she was stressed to hell and back for some reason."

"Wait, we should talk to her about that before you become even more agitated with her. We need to hear her side of the story." Pyrrha reasoned.

Yang just sighed. "I've been trying, but she just pushes me away. This wouldn't be any different."

* * *

Ruby watched Weiss as she slept and clenched her skirt as she tried to remember the sleeping CEO.

Ever since she met her, Ruby thought that she was her mother, mostly because of her cloak. After getting to know her the last couple days, she had this strong urge to stay near by her side. That being by Weiss's side filled her with warmth. Unconsciously, Ruby took Weiss's hand into her own.

"Weiss… who are you to me?"

" _She'd do almost anything for you if she could."_

"What did Yang mean by that…?" Ruby blushed as she remembered her sister's words. For some reason, it warmed her heart that Weiss was willing to go so far for her.  _But why?_  It confused her.

She unconsciously caressed Weiss's cheek and flinched back when the CEO was stirring awake.

"W-Weiss…?" Ruby whispered.

"Ngh… R-Ruby… No… Don't… NO!" Weiss panted as she sat up and grabbed her arm, panting heavily.

"Weiss! I'm here! It'll be ok!" Ruby tried to calm her down as she slowly rubbed circles on Weiss's left arm and back.

It felt like hours before Ruby felt Weiss relaxing her tense muscles.

"That's right, easy… Easy… I'm here. Everything's gonna be fine." Ruby said soothingly as she continued to rub small circles on Weiss's back and arm. When she felt that she was calm enough, she slowly lay her down.

Weiss panted heavily, slowly loosening the grip on her left arm. She glanced at Ruby, unsure if this was real or not and rolled onto her side. Part of her was hoping that this was real, the other part just knew that it was another illusion.

"Ru…by…" She mumbled, slowly closing her eyes so that she could rest just a little bit.

"Weiss? Weiss! Open your eyes!" Ruby shook her, scared that something was wrong. "Come on! Wake up! Please!"

Weiss opened her eyes again at the pleas and saw that Ruby was starting to cry. Oh wasn't that a familiar sight. With a grunt, she rolled onto her back and reached up, placing a hand onto Ruby's cheek and rubbed it lightly with her thumb. Since when did her illusions feel so realistic?

"Weiss…" Ruby whimpered, placing a hand over hers. "I'm here… I'm not going anywhere. Please, let me help."

Wait, why wasn't she disappearing? The illusions usually stop whenever she reached out to Ruby.

Weiss sat up quickly and looked at Ruby, in shock. This was real. "Ruby…?"

Ruby blinked, unsure of what was happening now. "I'm here, Weiss. Are you ok now? You looked like you were in a lot of pain."

"I'm fine." She hissed, covering her left arm. "Where… where am I?"

Ruby frowned and held onto her hand. "You're in my room. I brought you here when you, uh… fainted."

Weiss looked at Ruby in confusion. She fainted earlier? She thought about it, trying to remember what had happened, and remembered that she was talking to Pyrrha. She mentioned that Ruby would eventually find out about her arm and… Weiss forced her hand out of Ruby's and gripped her left arm tightly when she continued to think about it. Damn it, she had  _that_  happen again, didn't she?

"Weiss?" Ruby frowned. "Does your arm hurt?"

"I… N-… Ye-…" Weiss shook her head to try to stop the memories from coming back again. "It-It's nothing."

Ruby frowned and thought about it. It might not help, but she thought that it would help Weiss open up even if it's just a bit. The young leader reached out and gently placed her hand over Weiss's arm, rubbing it lightly. "You know… a few years ago, I… I kinda had nightmares that haunted me almost all the time."

Weiss blinked then looked at Ruby. "…What?"

Ruby nodded and looked away from Weiss, still rubbing her arm to calm her down.

"Ruby… what do you mean by that?" Weiss wanted to get her mind off her own self and wanted to know about how Ruby was all this time. "About the nightmares, I mean."

"…Let's make a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And hoped that y'all enjoyed this chapter! The next two chapters has the backstory, so no more waiting! Yay~ ...I'm sorry for it taking so long. Been writing and rewriting it so many times, most of the original plan is non existent now. And my editor recommended that I ended it there. :P
> 
> Thanks SunshineChildx, Dying_Inside, Dragonqueen1993, GrnDrgnzrd, xoxoHannahxoxo, and LavendurX for the reviews! See y'all next time!


	11. The Truth

"…Let's make a deal." Ruby looked at Weiss seriously. "Tell me more about yourself and that mission, and I'll tell you about my nightmares and something… else."

Weiss looked at Ruby, unsure of what to really think. She was curious about what Ruby was talking about, and the "something else" she mentioned, but was it worth telling her about the mission and herself? She looked into Ruby's eyes and frowned. Weiss remembered that kind of look when Ruby wanted to make a deal with her during their time at Beacon, just to get out of studying and have fun instead. Either way, it would be a lose-lose situation for her.

"So… what do you say?" Ruby stared at Weiss. "It's not really fair that I tell you about myself when I don't really know that much about you." She tapped her own forehead. "Everyone's been saying that I had some sort of… trauma after that mission. And apparently you were by my side…" Her eyes shifted towards Weiss's left arm.

Weiss stiffened when she felt Ruby's gaze and shifted to hide her arm. She still weighed the offer in her mind. She wanted to know more about Ruby and the time she was gone, but at the same time, she didn't know if she could tell her.

Sighing deeply, she looked at Ruby. "…What would you like to know?"

Ruby bit back a small grin when she won and thought about it. She had to word her questions carefully in case Weiss lied or shrunk away from her.

"Well…" She paused for a moment, glancing at Weiss's arm. As much as she wanted to ask about that, seeing how Weiss was trying to hide it, asking about her arm wouldn't be the best idea. For now.

Now that Weiss was awake, she could see how tired and dull her eyes looked. Ruby frowned and placed her hand onto Weiss's arm, rubbing it gently. "What… do you do exactly at the SDC? You seem really tired. Have you been sleeping properly?" She paused for a moment, recalling the last few days. "Or even eating? I don't think I've seen you eat or sleep much these last few days. Yang and Blake said that you don't really eat much, but I'd still like to know."

"I have a lot of paperwork, for one thing, to approve of business deals, approve of the numbers of orders that are coming in, a few others to allow Atlas machinery to go into the mines to see how they fare down there rather than risking the people's health. And the main one that's been giving me a hard time is the approval of giving Faunus equal rights while working under me…" Weiss gripped the bed sheets. "My father… The company still believes in his ways. I never approved of them, and I've been having a hard time dealing with his workers." She sighed deeply as she rubbed her temples, grimacing at the memory. Now for her next question… "I… have been getting some rest and appropriate meals. You do not need to worry about that." A pause. "My sister and assistants have been making sure of it."

"You're working too hard." Ruby frowned as she listened to Weiss.

"That's… what everyone's been saying." Weiss gave a weak chuckle and shook her head. "But I made a promise to Blake and… it's my responsibility to undo everything that my fath—"

"Nope." Ruby shook her head.

Weiss looked at Ruby. "…What?"

"Weiss, it's not your responsibility to shoulder everything alone. When you want help, you can ask us for help. There's a huge difference between trying your best and trying too hard, and you're definitely trying too hard!" Ruby grinned and took her hand.

" _Weiss. We, Team RWBY, won't leave your side! If you need help, you can ask for it! You don't have to shoulder everything on your own!"_

Weiss stared at Ruby for a moment before squeezing her hand back. "Still the same…"

"Huh?" Ruby blinked when Weiss said that and frowned when Weiss flinched. "Weiss, what did you mean? I'm not going to hurt you."

"…With or without your memories… you're still the same." Weiss gave a weak smile to Ruby and looked at her. "What did you mean earlier? About the nightmares?"

"I'll only tell you if you promise to be honest and tell me all about the mission after." Ruby looked at Weiss seriously, squeezing her hand gently but firmly. There was no way that she was going to let Weiss go until she heard the truth. "I heard about it from Yang, but I want to hear  _your_  side of the story."

"A-Alright…" That might give Weiss the time she needed to prepare herself and decide if she should tell Ruby the truth or not.

"About five years ago, after I remembered Yang and Blake, they trained me so that I was able to go on hunts again. It took a little over six months, but I remembered them and they made sure that I still had my reflexes. Just so that they knew that I could take care of myself if we went on hunts and I was separated from them." Ruby looked at Weiss who nodded. "Then… I don't know what happened, but we were on a mission to fight a pack of Beowolves. Nothing too bad, right?" Ruby frowned at the memory. "For some reason, I froze when I saw one of their claws dripping with blood."

Weiss frowned. "It's understandable, you were out of hunting for quite awhile." She tried to console her partner, but the younger woman just shook her head.

"Weiss, it wasn't out of nerves." Ruby looked at her in the eyes. "I… I don't know  _why_  but I saw someone else in front of me. Defending me from the Beowolves. But it was just me, Yang, and Blake. And both of them were behind me, wondering what was going on."

Saw someone in front of her, but there was no one? Yang and Blake were behind her, which meant…

"…It was a memory?" Weiss concluded as she looked at Ruby.

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded slowly. "Or at least that's what Yang and Blake thought." Her hands shook as she recalled how scared she was. How she couldn't move or do anything. How Yang was mad at herself and saying how she knew that 'her baby sister wasn't ready yet.' How Blake tried to calm the brawler down and talked to her about what happened.

"Ruby…?" Weiss took her hand and Ruby noted how hesitant she was in taking her hand. "After that… you had nightmares?"

"Yeah. I had a hard time fighting Beowolves after that. And don't get me started on Deathstalkers. I still have a hard time  _looking_  at one." Ruby chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head, then looked at Weiss seriously. "Do those two Grimm have something to do with…  _that_  mission?"

Weiss frowned and looked back at the bed sheets again, clenching it with her left hand. "I suppose that I promised…" She sighed deeply as she recalled  _that_  day. "You know most of what happened… Where should I start?"

"When we were separated from Yang and Blake. They told me that we were in Atlas to clear out some Nevermores and their nests. During that mission, there was an earthquake and some Grimm came out." Ruby looked at Weiss's left arm, guilt clear in her eyes. "…And that you lost an arm protecting me."

"…That is correct." Weiss sighed. "I… it's my fault. I hadn't been in the greatest moods before that hunt. I most likely attracted the Grimm with how much negativity I was feeling, and I ran out of Aura during the fight." She moved her left arm and almost laughed at herself. "It's a small price to pay, for my stupidity."  _For not having enough courage to confide in my team with my troubles._

"Weiss…" Ruby took her left hand into her own. "Why…? Was my aura low? Yang… she told me that you'd do almost anything for me. What…" Now she started to blush. "W-What are we to each other…? I know that we were partners, but…" Ruby's hand shook as she held onto Weiss's hand. "W-Were we…  _more_?"

Weiss blinked, twice, and blushed lightly. As much as she wanted it, they just weren't a thing before. "We… were best friends. Or as you put it… besties better than the resties."

Both of them were silent, but if one could listen closely, they could hear the sound of hearts breaking.

Ruby bit her lip, trying to understand why she felt this sharp pain in her chest. She only knew Weiss for a few days, for Oum's sake! How could she feel this way? But every time she was near Weiss, she felt… comfortable. Like it was the most natural thing to be by her side. If only she could remember her. If only Yang would stop beating around the bush and tell her who Weiss was to all of them.

Weiss looked away from Ruby. As much as she wanted to feel worthy of Ruby's affection, she didn't deserve it quite yet. Who was she to stand next to the strongest person she's known? She wanted to be someone who'd be worthy to call a friend, a partner, and possibly… a lover to Ruby. As she was now? Could she even call herself Ruby's  _friend_?

There was a soft knock on the door, snapping both of them out of their thoughts, and Ruby looked towards it. "Who is it?"

The door opened slightly, revealing Blake, but she didn't enter or open the door all the way. "Are you two alright? I brought you two some tea."

"We're…" Ruby paused and looked at Weiss who shrugged and looked back at Blake. "We're fine. Come on in."

Blake slowly stepped into the room, feeling some tension in the air, and looked at Weiss who looked away from her.

"I brought you two some tea. I know that you prefer coffee, Weiss, but have some of this tea. It'll help you feel a bit better." Blake placed the offered cups onto the nightstand next to the bed and shifted a bit awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

Thankfully, Ren spoke up.

"It's nice to see you back here with the others again, Weiss." He started gently and gave a little bow to greet her. "How have you been? It's been… a long time since we last spoke, after all."

Weiss looked up at Ren with a small smile. "I have been well. As I told Ruby, the SDC life has not been… easy, but it's still manageable thanks to my sister and assistants."

"Sister?" Ruby was interested. "How is your family back in Atlas? I mean, your dad stepped down or something right? Since you took over."

After she said that and saw the look on Weiss's face, Ruby instantly regretted her question.

"Weiss… what happened to your family?" Blake frowned, wanting to know as well.

"They…" Weiss gripped her arm and looked away from them, taking a deep breath. "Winter is fine. The others… are not." She didn't know why she was suddenly feeling the weight of what happened now. She was fine when she first heard the news, but  _telling_  her friends? That had a different feeling. The white haired woman moved so her body was facing everyone as she continued but her gaze was on her lap. "My father died not too long before we graduated. My younger brother is currently in the hospital in a coma. As for my mother… no one knows where she is."

The room was silent when they heard the news. Ruby and Ren looked at Weiss in shock while Blake frowned and moved towards her, placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"Why would the SDC hide that? Weiss, what's the SDC been doing these last five years?" Blake never really trusted them, but with Weiss leading them now, she wanted to at least know if her friend and former teammate would be safe. "…Why didn't you tell us what was going on?"

"It would've been an uproar." Weiss sighed, shaking her head. "He was healthy to the people's eyes. For him to suddenly  _die_  during a meeting…" She hesitated for a moment before looking at Blake, hurt and regret in her eyes. "...by a terrorist attack formed by a splinter White Fang group… how could we release that news to the public? I'm trying to give Faunus a chance to live equally in Atlas. If news of that were made public… the Faunus would be banned from entering Atlas again. Or worse. Killed."

Blake's eyes widened when Weiss told her that there was a splinter White Fang group. Of course she knew that there were still Faunus that hated the SDC, but to go  _that_  far? Wait… if they  _killed_  Jacques… "Weiss… has the White Fang done anything to  _you_  since you took over?" The Faunus asked worriedly.

"They…" Weiss started then looked up to see Blake's expression. Fear, guilt, and unease were written very clearly. No matter what she said, she'd only make the Faunus more restless… as well as the others. "…They did. Though I'm sure that you all know about it. Yang came to see me the month after that happened after all."

"The 'Dust Incident?'" Blake was growing more and more upset. Enough that Ren placed his hand onto her shoulder to calm her down.

"That is correct." Weiss sighed, frowning.

Ruby placed her hand onto Weiss's arm, running it up and down in a soothing motion and looked at the others. "Yang should hear about this."

"I guess you're right…" Weiss sighed, her arm shaking.

"Are you ok?" Ruby frowned as she moved so that she was holding Weiss's hand, looking at her worriedly.

"I-I'm fine." Wait, now that she had told almost everything… Weiss turned towards her former partner. "Ruby… what did you mean that Yang was lying that you were dying?" She frowned. Was that a lie? If it was, it was a horrible lie, and she didn't know if she could trust Yang again after this.

Blake stepped in. "Weiss, would you have come even if we weren't injured?" She understood why her partner lied like that and she wanted to get the  _reason_  through the shorter woman's head. "It was a cruel lie, and you have the right to hate us, but would you have came back to Vale to visit us? Yang tried to bring you back at least for a visit. You refused her."

"I was busy at the time." Weiss defended herself. "And Yang's timing to visit couldn't have been worse." She sighed as she got up. So it  _was_  a lie. Why was she here now? Just so that they could laugh at her?

"Weiss, I'm sorry that we had to lie like that." Blake knew where her mind was going and took a step closer to her. "But we're still glad that you're here with us."

Weiss just sighed, unsure if she could believe them, and blinked when she suddenly felt something grabbing her hand. She looked towards her side and saw that Ruby was holding her hand, looking at her with those concerned, puppy eyes again.

"W-What is it?"

"Please stay…" Ruby whispered. "We… I need you here." After realizing what she just said, Ruby blushed madly. "I-I mean, you just got here a few days ago and I feel really comfortable knowing that you're here! And uh, I just…"

"Ruby, I'm… not going anywhere soon." Weiss gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "I just… need time to process some things though."

"R-Right…" Ruby frowned and looked at Blake and Ren, who just shrugged and started to leave the room. "Ready to talk with Yang? What did you two talk about earlier anyways?"

Weiss frowned when she was asked that. "She was apologizing for the sudden sparring, asking if my arms were alright…" She paused as she looked at her prosthetic arm. "Surprisingly, she was calm the entire time. It… worried me, so I excused myself early. That's when you came in."

"You're feeling alright… right?" Ruby looked at her prosthetic arm and took it into her hand. "Oh… it's a little dented. I can fix it for you later if you'd like."

"Thank you, but later. I'm sure that everyone has many questions." Weiss sighed, already feeling exhausted thinking of what everyone would ask.

"Hey…" Ruby placed a hand on Weiss's cheek so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "Whatever happens, I'm here for you."

" _I'll always be here for you, Weiss. Remember that."_

Weiss flinched at the memory and took a step back.

"Weiss?" Ruby frowned, worried that she overstepped her boundaries. "I-I'm sorry." She mentally berated herself, unsure why she was so… touchy feely with Weiss. Was she always like this with her before?

"I-It's fine. You used to do this before." Weiss gave her a weak smile. "I guess we should go."

Ruby nodded and walked with Weiss, ready to finally learn more about her past and, hopefully, remember her white haired partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: ...I just realized that Weiss didn't actually talk about that mission. I'm so sorry for that. There'll be a bit more backstory in the next chapter!
> 
> Thanks Dying_Inside, Dragonqueen1993, LavendurX, and xoxoHannahxoxo for the reviews! See y'all next time!


	12. Poor Explanation

Ren and Blake were the first to appear downstairs. They looked around at the rest of the group. Nora was taking a food nap after eating all of Ren's pancakes that he made for her, while Jaune and Pyrrha sat next to each other on the couch talking to Yang, who sat on the other side of them.

Yang looked up when she noticed her partner and Ren walking back, and frowned when she saw Weiss and Ruby walking in after them.

"I guess it's time to hear her side of the story, Pyrrha." Yang nodded towards them.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked back and each gave a small smile to welcome them. Ren moved towards Nora's side while Blake hesitantly sat next to Yang. Weiss stayed near the hallway until Ruby took her hand and tugged her gently towards the others, pulling up a couple chairs for them to sit in.

Weiss sighed as she took a seat on the chair, waiting for Ruby to sit next to her, and looked at the others. "…Where should I begin? Or rather…" She turned towards Ruby, then Yang and Blake. "What do you know?"

"You'd been avoiding us for weeks before you disappeared, then the SDC lied to us saying that you were dead, or made some pathetic excuse where we couldn't talk to you." Yang frowned, crossing her arms, looking at Blake, then turning back to Weiss. "When I went to visit you, you said that you still had things to do and wouldn't return with m—" She stopped when Ruby gave her a look and sighed, leaning back onto the couch.

"I… didn't tell them what you told me. You should start from there." Blake held onto her arm, looking away.

Weiss sighed deeply and folded her hands together. "I guess I should start from before we graduated… then what happened after." She looked at everyone then started her tale.

* * *

I was dreading this for weeks now. I knew that it was about time for  _him_  to call, and I've been stressing about it for the past two weeks. I was able to play off the stress as studying too hard for the upcoming tests, and I was thankful that my teammates and Team JNPR were buying it. I didn't want to involve them with  _him,_  after all.

It was just before dinner when he called and I excused herself from everyone, claiming that I would catch up with them later. I knew that I wouldn't have the appetite to eat after this call anyway.

"…Hello, father."

"Don't just 'hello' me after ignoring my calls before, you ungrateful whelp." His cold voice sounded annoyed with me already. "Regardless, I am just calling to inform you that you will be returning to Atlas the day you graduate Beacon. And the one that will be picking you up will be your fiancé."

"Fiance?! Don't I get a say in this?!" I clenched my free hand tightly. There he goes again, making decisions on his own.

"Of course you don't. You obviously don't know what's good for the company. Or for yourself." He sneered.

"Father, I—" I started, but was interrupted.

"You what? You're getting good grades? You're coming out on top of all your classes? That doesn't mean anything to the SDC. All that you have been doing is wasting your time these past four years while you've attended Beacon. I've been such a fool for letting that happen."

I was too shocked and angry to say anything and forced myself not to cry from the anger. I was too used to him putting me down, after all. This wasn't anything new.

"Now where was I? Oh, yes. The marriage will occur within the week you return home. I'll be calling you within a few days once everything is set up."

"…-fuse…"

"What was that?" Father knew what I said but refused to acknowledge it.

"I said that I refuse! I will not be returning to Atlas after graduation! I… my team still needs me… here…" My voice grew softer. I wasn't even sure of myself as I said that last part, which my father quickly took note of and smirked.

"Do they really need you? You don't sound too sure of yourself. And besides, do I give a damn of what you think, young lady? The answer is 'no.' You  _will_  return to Atlas and you  _will_  marry your fiancé within the week you return. Do I make myself clear?" Jacques sneered and took my silence as an acknowledgement. "I see that we're finally on the same page for once. I will be calling again."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I gripped my scroll tightly, forcing myself not to cry. I knew that this was going to happen soon, and with how I was treating the others, I sure as hell deserved it.

* * *

"Wait, backup. Your  _father calling_  was why you were  _avoiding_  us?" Yang frowned. Winter had told her that she and Weiss were going through things, was that one of them?

"I… yes." Weiss looked down. "No matter what I said, the result would've been the same." She frowned and clenched her fists. "There was… nothing that you could've done even if I told you. I didn't want to add more stress to any of you. Besides, this was something that I had to do on my own."

"Hypocritical of you, don't you think?" Blake looked at Weiss. "You once told me that we were a team. That we made a promise to let our team know if something was wrong. You were very obviously stressed about your father for weeks before. You still could've talked to us to help lessen the burden a bit."

Weiss merely gave a small, dry laugh. "Then what? Fight him? Come up with an idea to prevent me from returning to Atlas?" She shook her head. "Either way, he'd just ignore anything that I wanted and push his plans onto me. He'd been like that for years. Besides, I wanted to restore the SDC, and I did… but not in a way that I expected."

"Continue with the story. We can yell at you about your decisions after." Ruby took her hand.

"Right…" Weiss sighed and thought about where she left off. "This was the night before that mission…"

* * *

I sighed as I stared at my scroll, knowing what was coming. It's been a week since we graduated and the stress of Father not calling was strange, considering he was calling to remind me that once I returned to Atlas, I was going to be married to whoever he wished.

It didn't matter what I tried to say to him. He'd just ignore it.

When the call I was dreading finally came, I answered it.

"Weiss Schnee?"

I blinked. That wasn't my father's voice.

"Yes? This is she."

"I'm sorry to inform you, but your father has died. There was an attack by the White Fang and he, unfortunately, passed away."

Wait, what's going on? It was just last week that he was berating me like usual. My blood ran cold when it started to sink in.

My father… Jacques was dead.

"I-Is Winter alright? W-What about mother…? A-And Whitley?" I prayed to Oum that Winter was at least alright.

"Winter is alright. Your brother is currently in the hospital in a coma, while your mother is currently missing. Do not worry, we're doing everything that we can to find her."

I nearly dropped my scroll. Winter was all right, I was happy about that. But Whitley was in a coma? And mother was missing? What happened during that week since father called?

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice called and I turned towards the door. "I just wanted to say good night. We have an early hunt tomorrow. Sleep well and… I'll see you in the morning."

"R-Right, good night, Ruby." I sighed and turned my attention back towards the scroll. "Why are you calling me? I assume that it's not just to inform me about my family's situation?"

"That is correct. Now that Jacques is dead. We need you, the Heiress of the SDC, to take over."

I needed to suddenly take over? What? I wanted to show them… to show Father that I could lead the SDC in a different light. Could I show his followers what I wanted to do?

"I have a mission to go on with my team tomorrow." I stated as calmly as I could.

"Understood. We will be there to pick you up as soon as your mission is over."

"That's not what I—" I started but the man cut me off.

"It's not what you planned for, but we need someone to lead the SDC. Was it not your intention to take over the SDC?"

How did he...? But he was right. With Father gone, someone needs to lead the SDC. And Winter didn't want to take over so the responsibility falls to me.

I looked back at the door where Ruby spoke to me a few minutes ago, weighing my options, and sighed. I'd tell them after the mission.

"…Alright."

* * *

"Your dad is dead?" Jaune was shocked by the news and Pyrrha looked sympathetically to her.

"That is correct." Weiss sighed. "We had to cover it up. Otherwise there would've been a scandal. I didn't want the Faunus to be banned from Atlas because of a splinter group of the White Fang."

Blake frowned and folded her ears, wishing that she was able to help Weiss before.

"Is that all that you wanted to know?" Weiss sighed, looking at everyone and avoiding Ruby's gaze. She knew that everything she said wouldn't have brought any memories back to her, or sounded familiar.

"What happened to that fiancé of yours?" Ruby frowned as she asked that, feeling a knot in her stomach. "You haven't said a word about him since your father decided that for you… and you seem really tired, so I think it's safe to assume that he hasn't helped you at all with the SDC…"

"That is correct. I called off the engagement while I was in the hospital." Weiss looked at her left hand, clenching and unclenching her hand. "Of course they weren't happy, but I didn't care. I had too many things to do, and marrying someone wasn't at the top of that list. Especially marrying someone that my father chose for me." She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Winter was the face of the SDC while I was in the hospital, though I was the one that gave all the orders of what to do while I was in rehabilitation. As soon as I got out, I took leadership. Not long after that, I arranged the funeral for my father, cut out his old workers and struggled to find people to work with me."

"Couldn't you have Winter help you?" Yang frowned. "Surely she didn't let you do  _everything_  by yourself."  _At least from what she told me, she did everything she could._

"She's still part of the military. Of course she offered some help, but I did most of the work. The most she could've done was make sure that I was eating and sleeping properly." Weiss ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "It was… part of the deal I did with the SDC." She glanced at everyone. "I wanted to change how they viewed the Faunus. Of course they didn't agree. I didn't have help and not many people in Atlas were happy about my decision… In fact, I didn't start really getting help and support until about two years ago."

Blake looked up. "But all the news now said that… the Faunus are much happier in Atlas than they were before."

"They weren't before. They all feared that I would be like my father." Weiss folded her hands together to stop them from shaking.

Noticing what she was doing, Ruby placed her hand over Weiss's. "You don't have to continue for now if you don't want to."

Weiss was grateful for the action and nodded. "I suppose a break would be nice… I would like to hear what all of you have been up to."

"Well… Nora and Ren are going to be married this year." Pyrrha nodded towards them.

Ren nodded and ran his hand through Nora's hair. "We would've gotten married two years ago. But I insisted that we have all of our friends together." He looked at Weiss. "That included you."

"I…" Weiss was touched that they wanted to include her but felt bad that they had to wait all this time just for her to come back home. "I apologize…"

"Don't. After everything that you went through, I understand that you needed some time for yourself to take care of everything." Ren gave her a gentle, understanding smile. "She wanted a big wedding anyways, so we needed more time to plan everything out." He sighed. "As well as ordering all of the food."

Weiss cracked a small smile. "I could help with that. The organization, I mean." She glanced at everyone and quickly added. "As an apology for making you all wait."

"Weiss, you really don't have to. We appreciate it though." Ren did appreciate the thought but everything was planned. They just needed a date and he didn't know how long Weiss would be staying.

"If you say so." Weiss gave a small nod then looked at the others, unsure of how to talk to them. "And… what about the rest of you?"

"Besides training Ruby, and Yang trying to get you back? Nothing really new with us that you don't already know." Blake looked at Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Well… we started dating a month ago." Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Blake caught the confusion in Weiss's eyes for a brief second before it was empty.

Weiss mentally sighed and folded her hands together. ' _Did they not work out? They seemed compatible, though Jaune and Pyrrha do seem good together as well._ '

"Weiss?" Weiss jumped when Ruby placed a hand onto her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I…" She stopped and looked at everyone, wondering why they were giving her that pitiful look. "I just thought…"

" _Wanna go on a date?" I caught Jaune asking that to Ruby._

_I stopped my hand from opening the door._

" _We can go get some coffee, take a walk through the park, then grab some dinner,_ "  _Jaune continued._

_I quickly turned around and left. I told myself that it was fine. This was how it was supposed to be anyways. Ruby deserved happiness, even if it didn't include me._

_I walked towards the central garden and sat on the bench, sighing deeply and looking up at the sky. The sky was so beautiful, so beautiful that it reminded me of Ruby._

" _Weiss!" I snapped out of my trance and looked towards my left and saw Ruby waving at me. "Hey, BFF! Wanna go on a date?"_

_I was shocked to hear that but noticed how nervous she looked. Why was she…? "What about… you know what… never mind." I stood up and walked towards her. Maybe I can indulge myself on this one selfish action for once before everything ended. "I accept."_

" _Oh come on, it's Friday and we can do our home—Wait, y-you accept? I-I mean…great! Jaune said—" She started but I took her hand into my own. "W-Weiss?" She blushed._

" _Please. Just for tonight. It's just you and me."_

"Weiss…" Jaune looked at her, guilt written all over his face. "Did you think that… that I was dating Ruby before?"

Ruby looked at him, surprised by that, and looked at Weiss who immediately looked uncomfortable. She may have gotten some of her memory back, but that one she vaguely remembered.

"…Were you not?" Weiss muttered weakly. "I heard you asking Ruby to go on a date and… she came to me so I thought… she needed me as practice for you."

Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake looked at Weiss in disbelief. It was as everyone had feared.

_Weiss thought that Jaune and Ruby liked each other._

"…Even if you were stressed out, you're really an idiot." Yang huffed as she gave Weiss a look.

"Yang…" Ruby frowned. She may not have memories of that specifically, but there was no way that she could allow her sister to be a big meanie butt anymore.

"Don't 'Yang…' me, Rubes. Judging by your look, you don't remember that you asked her on a date, or Jaune suggesting it." Yang huffed and looked at Weiss, who was stiff and making herself look smaller than she was. Ok, maybe she should give her a break, considering that she was stressed from the SDC and her father, plus her family's situation… Scratching her head, Yang sighed deeply.

Before she could say anything though, Blake placed a hand onto her shoulder and shook her head. "Give her a bit more time before you talk to her again."

"Twelve hours. That's how long I'll give her." Yang huffed and thought about changing the subject for everyone. It's been a while since they were all together. Should they all train together? They weren't really in the shape for that. Have a party? No, it might be too soon and they didn't have a reason to party. Well, maybe a thank you dinner for the team to check in on them, but other than that…

"Uhm… Weiss…" Jaune started as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, I just want to apologize for… that misunderstanding." He put a hand up before Weiss could speak. "If you're thinking of blaming yourself, don't. We're both to blame, if anything. You should've gone to your team, yes; but I shouldn't have pushed Ruby into asking you on a date to cheer you up."

Weiss bit her lip, knowing that he was right, and sighed. She flinched at the touch on her arm and looked towards her side to see Ruby looking at her with guilt and concern. Oh Oum, how she hated that look on her partner…

"Ruby…" She started but her partner shook her head.

"Weiss, listen. I… I still don't really remember you…" Ruby kept her grip on Weiss's arm to give her some sort of comfort as she continued. "But being with you these last few days, I've really enjoyed them. If you're willing to give me a bit more time, I'm sure that I'll remember you." She then grinned. "I eventually remembered Yang and Blake. The others took a bit longer, but I still remembered them!"

"I… suppose that you're correct about that…" Weiss forced a weak smile, but inside she was conflicted.

' _Most of the time… we_ repress  _certain memories that were painful. It might be best that she never remembers me._ '

"Ok, enough of this sad talk." Ruby stood up and looked at everyone. "Let's all go out to dinner. A bit of a friend… no,  _family_  bonding. What do y'all say?" She grinned then looked at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, right? Can we spar sometime tomorrow? I heard you're pretty strong, after all!"

"Of course, Ruby. Different sparring partners helps us keep in shape, after all." Pyrrha smiled and nodded, not knowing why Ruby wanted to spar with her specifically.

"Great! Now that that's all settled, where shall we go?"

"Pizza!" Nora cheered from where she was, surprising everyone.

"When did you wake up?!" Yang frowned at her.

"Just in time to tell all of you… 'I told you so!'" Nora grinned as she hugged Ren's arm, feeling proud of herself.

"I guess pizza it is." Weiss shrugged, looking at the others and smiled to herself. She really did miss them and their antics. She rubbed her right eye before tears would fall, and stood up when everyone got up to leave.

' _Do I really belong here with them?_ ' Weiss looked over her friends and family and looked at Ruby's grip onto her arm. She smiled to herself, missing that warmth from her partner. ' _No matter what I say or think, they won't let me go. I guess I could trust them again. I just hope that they'll forgive me._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And here's the next chapter~ Apologies in advance any possible slow updates from now on. Getting a bit burnt out and my editor started school again.
> 
> Thanks LavendurXm, LieutBrook, Dragonqueen1993, DreamingParadise14, and xoxoHannahxoxo for the reviews. See y'all next time!


	13. Restart

After dinner, both teams went back to their respective houses after saying goodnight to each other. Ruby watched her team leave for their rooms, then went to her own room. She rolled in bed for about an hour before deciding to get up and go out to the porch. She looked up at the sky as she kicked her legs off the side of the porch, thinking to herself.

"Can't sleep?" Blake walked up to the younger woman, worried about her as she moved closer.

"Blake!" Ruby huffed as she looked at her then looked back up at the sky. "Well… yeah. Who could sleep after what Weiss told us about her family and why she didn't come back? And you saw how she looked. She looked terrified being here with us for some reason!"

"Ruby, she's been away from us for over five years over a misunderstanding and came back because of a lie. She most likely feels like an idiot, and she was trying to keep a promise to me." The Faunus saw Ruby's curious gaze and continued. "She promised me that she'd do whatever she could to make sure that Faunus are treated equally in Atlas. You remember a long time ago, when her father was the head of the SDC, Faunus weren't treated as nicely?"

"Yeah, overworked, underpaid. They were basically slaves, and they created the White Fang group to fight for equal rights. A couple of years passed but nothing worked, and the head stepped down but the new head had a more… violent way of leading. People noticed the Faunus because of that, but it wasn't in a good way." Ruby frowned as she looked at Blake, motioning for her to sit down with her.

"That's right… You could basically say that the SDC were our worst enemies… just as we were to them." Blake took a seat and looked up at the sky. "I don't think that we would've been friends really without your help."

"Really?" Ruby raised a curious brow. "I'm… just a kid though. How could I have helped you two?"

"You're our team leader. You knew how to help us get past each other's barriers and how we fought. Both you and Yang helped us talk to each other more often as well." Blake shrugged. She didn't trust Weiss at first, but she saw how hard she was trying to right the wrongs of the SDC her father created, as well as trying to break out of the shell she was raised in. If she hadn't met Ruby or Yang, she might've spent the rest of her life still hating everyone within the SDC.

"Blake, why couldn't you sleep?" Ruby leaned back against the porch, looking at her teammate. "It can't just be looking out for me. There's more, isn't there?"

The Faunus looked at Ruby then looked at the sky. "Let's just focus on one thing at a time."

"Nope. You and Yang have been helping me all this time. Let me help you. It might've taken me six months to remember both you and Yang, but I remember the looks you've been giving her. Was that what this is about?"

Blake gave a soft laugh. "You really could be a detective sometimes with how well you observe us." She then frowned and pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them. "But yes, it's about Yang… She's worried about you so I don't want to bother her too much. Then Weiss finally came back and I don't want to push them too far."

"Blake… what happened? Did… did Weiss and I stop you from getting along with Yang?" Ruby felt guilty if that was the case. Not only was she the worst partner for Weiss because she couldn't even remember her, and from all the stories that she heard, she gave her a lot of pain, but she was also the worst leader for not noticing how Yang and Blake's relationship was going.

"No, you didn't." Blake gave a small smile. "We… I just couldn't find the right time to really tell Yang. And right now, it's not a good time. Until she gets along with Weiss, I can't really do anything."

"Blake, that's not really fair. What you're doing is almost like what Weiss did before… from what I heard. Putting others before yourself… sure that's fine from time to time, but you can be selfish." Ruby pouted as she looked at her. "Besides… I don't want to push Weiss into anything. We can talk and all that, but if I don't remember her and she still feels the same way…" She frowned, unsure of what to really do.

Ruby cared for Weiss, she really did. But she'd feel like Weiss would think that she only cares for her out of pity. Nothing beyond that. Sighing, Ruby pulled up her legs and hugged them, looking at Blake.

"I think Yang has a lot of things on her mind, but she really does care about you. I've seen the way she looks at you."

"Have you  _seen_  how Weiss  _looked_  at you though?" Blake countered then thought about it. "I'll talk to Yang… once she and Weiss makes up then. How's that?"

"You just really don't want to talk to her right now, do you? Even just to lessen the stress?" Ruby chuckled then yawned.

"Time for our team leader to get some rest." Blake avoided what Ruby said and stood up. "Be careful with Pyrrha tomorrow. She's pretty strong."

"Gee… thanks." Ruby groaned. "I just hope that everything will turn out alright from now on…"

Blake nodded. "Me too…" She watched Ruby get up, stretch, and walked inside with her. "Me too, Ruby…"

Not only did the Faunus hope that Weiss would open up to them again, she hoped that her partner would be alright with everything that would happen between them and herself.

* * *

A week has passed and Ruby had asked Pyrrha to train with her every day, seeing how strong she was, and figured that she needed a way to help her get back into shape after the last mission.

The young leader grunted as she fell back from Pyrrha's strike, and huffed as she jumped up and used her semblance to charge at her. Pyrrha smiled as Ruby charged her and braced herself as she blocked the young leader's swing. Compared to when she first started sparring with her a week ago, she has clearly improved and gotten most of her strength and stamina back, although…

"You're a little too agitated, Ruby. It makes you easy to read." Pyrrha advised as she shoved Ruby back again.

Ruby huffed as she jumped back and glanced to her right, seeing Weiss watching her, then focused back on Pyrrha. She shifted her grip onto Crescent Rose and took a deep breath.

' _Calm down._ She's  _watching. Show her that you're different than the last time she saw you fight_.' Ruby told herself as she crouched a bit.

Weiss was watching Ruby and Pyrrha spar from the porch with the others and flinched a bit when she felt Blake placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"Blake… you scared me." She huffed then looked away. "What is it? If you're going to ask what I'm noticing, Ruby hasn't changed that much… aside from her being distracted by something."

"Sorry, you were so lost in thought about something, we were just asking if you wanted something to drink and if you think that we can go on a hunt tomorrow."

Weiss blinked then looked at her former Faunus teammate. "A hunt? Don't you think it's too soon?" She frowned. Sure they seemed like they had most of their energy back and they seemed to be ready for combat, but it's only been a few days since they recovered and she was worried about them.

"If you're that worried, why don't you come with us?" Yang shrugged.

"You want me to come with you…?" Weiss raised a brow. She was sure that Yang still didn't like her. "What kind of mission is it this time?"

"I checked it over five times and checked it over with Blake and the others. It's a pack of Beowolves not too far from here." Yang crossed her arms. "I don't want to fight anything too big right now and just see where we are. You know, see how much we can fight and what kind of Grimm we can take in our condition."

"…That's… oddly smart of you." Weiss gave a weak smile in an attempt to joke with her, remembering Yang saying something similar back at Beacon.

"Hey, even I can come up with some plans sometimes." Yang gave a weak grin in return.

Things between them still hasn't been completely fixed, but it has been getting better, something that both Ruby and Blake were thankful for.

Weiss thought about it for a moment longer then looked at Yang. "I suppose that it has been a while since I last hunted myself. I will accompany you on your next mission."

"Hunts? You went on missions?" Yang raised her brow in confusion. "Didn't you have stuff to do for the SDC? How did you find the time to go on hunts?" She paused. "Have you been sleeping and eating properly?"

"I have been acquiring the appropriate meals and rest." Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "And I don't go on hunts. We do have huntsmen and huntresses taking care of the few Grimm that we have in Atlas. I do some patrolling around the area and help on some hunts if there are some Grimm that are more of a threat than usual."

"But you  _have_  been hunting." Blake frowned.

"I suppose if you want me to say it, yes. I have been 'hunting' when it was just me assisting with small skirmishes here and there to make sure that my skills aren't too rusty." Weiss rolled her eyes. "I usually have been assisting Team FNKI as long as they didn't tell any other huntsmen that I helped them." She stared at the ground and clenched her left fist. "The people of Atlas have given me a hard enough time for taking over the SDC. The least I could do is make sure that everyone is living comfortable lives."

"And you decided this all on your own again?" Yang huffed, narrowing her eyes at Weiss.

"If my grandfather could do it, so could I. I want to show others that I'm nothing like my father!" Weiss stood up and clenched her fists. "Hate me all you want, Yang, I deserve it for leaving all of you, but I intend on keeping my promises."

"Now hold on, who said anything that I hated you?" Yang growled, standing up as well.

Blake immediately moved towards Yang's side and held onto her arm to calm her down. "Yang, you know that Ruby's looking this way."

Yang glanced at her sister who stopped sparring with Pyrrha and glared at her with a pout. She just raised a hand to wave at Ruby, showing her that she wasn't going to hurt Weiss and grunted as she sat back down.

"I'm sorry… I know that you wanted to talk to Weiss, and I can try to distract Ruby, but you do need to watch your temper. Your talk with her can wait until after the mission. I think Ruby is getting through to her, convincing her to open up." Blake rubbed Yang's arm.

"I'm just annoyed, not mad. I get that you two are worried, but we're fine." Yang huffed, glancing at Weiss who started to walk away, with Ruby quickly chasing after her while waving at Pyrrha and folding away her weapon.

"Weiss, wait!" Ruby walked by her side. "You're not leaving, right?"

"Ruby, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to get ready for the hunt. Didn't Yang and Blake tell you?" Weiss sighed. She really can't be out of Ruby's sight for more than five minutes now, could she? It was almost adorable seeing her former partner behaving like this. Almost.

"Oh uh… I uh… knew that. I was just curious about your uh… weapon. Yeah." Ruby fidgeted and continued to follow after Weiss. It wasn't a complete lie, but she was too childish to admit that being away from Weiss's side for too long made her anxious.

It didn't make sense, for Oum's sake! Ruby couldn't remember Weiss no matter how hard she tried, but everyone was saying that they were close. Like  _really_  close. And she felt really comfortable being by Weiss's side.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Weiss called for her, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Oh uh… yes…?" Ruby gave her an awkward smile, unsure of what happened the past minute. She glanced around and realized that she was in Weiss's room, then turned her attention back towards her former partner when she spoke.

"Ruby… if you're not up for hunting, Yang, Blake, and I can handle the mission on our own…" Weiss frowned as she held her weapon, setting it onto the table to give it a quick check to make sure that it was working properly.

"What?! No! I'm fine, I'm just a little tired from sparring with Pyrrha. She's really tough." It wasn't a complete lie. She was worn out, but resting should give her more than enough energy for the hunts later.

"I suggest that you get some rest then. I'll come get you when we set out tomorrow for the hunt." Weiss rotated the cartridge of her weapon, making sure that it rotated properly. She paused for a moment, feeling Ruby's curious stare. With a sigh, she stopped and looked at Ruby. "If you're careful, I'll allow you to check my weapon."

Ruby's eyes lit up when she had permission and moved next to Weiss, observing the weapon at first then carefully picking it up, noting the weight. She hummed to herself and very carefully ran her hand over the blade, noting how sharp it was. "I think I can make some improvements to your weapon if you'd like. I could make it a little lighter and sharpen the blade. Oh and I saw you rotating the cartridge. It seemed a bit slow so I could make it faster and stop on the right dust chamber that you want."

"Ruby, you need your rest for the hunt tomorrow." Weiss missed Ruby checking her weapon like this, but she really did want the younger woman to rest.

"I can finish it in about three hours. After that, I promise that I'll get some food and sleep before we go on the hunt tomorrow." Ruby gave Weiss a puppy-eyed dog look, almost smiling to herself when she saw how flustered Weiss gets every time she gives her that look.

"F-Fine… I'll inform Blake and Yang that I'll be by your side while you adjust my weapon." Weiss sighed as she got up and was about to turn towards the door but looked back when she suddenly felt Ruby grabbing her arm. "Ruby? I'm not going too far and I'm not going anywhere…"

"I-I know but I just… can you stay by my side? Just for a while longer…?" Ruby blushed as she said that. She didn't know why but whenever Weiss wasn't by her side or within her sight, she felt anxious. As if she were a puppy waiting at home, unsure if their master would return home or not.

Weiss raised a brow but just nodded, taking a seat next to the desk. Ruby grinned happily and sat down as well, starting to work on Weiss's weapon.

"Hmmm… this goes there like that… I could do this instead…" Ruby mumbled to herself, being very careful with Weiss's weapon.

Weiss kept an eye on the clock while she watched Ruby, and rested her right elbow on the desk and her chin onto her hand. She started to lose herself in the past, remembering the times when she watched Ruby working on the team's weapons. Not too long after that, she started to fall asleep.

Ruby glanced at Weiss, worried that she was boring her out of her mind but stopped when she saw how tranquil the older woman looked as she slept. Smiling to herself, she went back to work, finishing working on Weiss's weapon as promised and folding her arms on the desk. She rested her head onto her arms and watched Weiss, slowly falling asleep.

* * *

Yang sighed to herself as she leaned back onto the couch, watching a movie that Nora wanted everyone to watch after Ruby and Weiss disappeared into the house.

"Yang, are you sure that you don't want us to come as back up?" Jaune scratched the back of his neck once the movie was over, worried about them.

"I think we'll be fine. But… just in case, can you follow from a distance?" Yang was having a bad feeling about the mission. Maybe she should've just left it up to Ruby to pick and choose? She is the team leader after all, but she doesn't have her memories. Could she fill the team leader role properly and do her job?

"Of course. You, Blake, and Ruby just recovered. Weiss said that she helped with some skirmishes but we don't know if her skills are rusty or not. If things get too dicey, Ren and I can help you four get out while Nora and Pyrrha kill off the rest of the Grimm."

Yang grunted, not liking the sound of that, but agreed regardless. He was right. "This is still our mission though. We're the ones that have to finish it."

"But it wouldn't hurt to ask for help from time to time." Jaune frowned.

"I know." Yang sighed then felt her scroll ringing. She got up to excuse herself when she saw who was calling and answered when she was out of earshot from everyone. "Winter? What's going on?"

" _I'm sorry to have bothered you, Yang. Is Weiss alright?_ " Winter spoke with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Weiss? Yeah, she's fine. Why?" Yang didn't like the sound of her voice. "What's going on? She's doing alright… besides some pains in her arm from time to time and being a bit skittish around Ruby."

" _I tried to call her earlier and she hasn't answered. I was just worried._ "

"You wouldn't call just to check in on her. What's going on? Something with the SDC again?" Yang frowned. "Weiss told us something interesting last week, by the way. She told us what happened with your family."

Winter was silent for a moment before she spoke up again. " _It's about that, actually. How much has she informed you?_ "

"That your father died about a week or so after we graduated, your brother is in a coma in the hospital, and that your mother is missing. Winter, if I'd known that, I wouldn't have been so hard on Weiss in the first place." Yang sounded a bit guilty.

" _No, I asked you to be harsh on her. And it sounds as if she is being more honest with all of you than me…_ " Winter sighed deeply. " _But can you tell Weiss to call me back? I have something to tell her_."

"I can pass the message." Yang frowned. "What happened? Did something happen? You can't keep me out of the loop, Winter."

"… _Whitley woke up._ "

Yang was silent for a moment then looked up the stairs. "I'll check on Weiss and pass the message."

" _Thank you and… I'm sorry._ " With that, Winter hung up and Yang sighed as she made her way back towards the others.

"Yang?" Blake's ears folded, worried about her partner.

"I'm fine. It was Winter." Yang saw Blake's look and mentally slapped herself. Right. "I've been… in contact with Winter for a while. I'll explain some things about that later. I need to see Weiss and tell her that Winter's worried about her."

"Only if you promise that you won't fight with her…" Blake warned. It wasn't that she didn't trust her partner. She was just worried about them, especially when Winter was involved and she didn't know what they were planning.

"Remember when I went to Atlas before? Winter gave me her number. In case something happened and to keep me up to date with what's going on with Weiss while I kept her up to date with Ruby."

"Oh… that makes so much more sense now." Blake blinked when she heard the news. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Because I was still annoyed with Weiss really." Yang frowned. "I know that I should've given Winter's number to you but it's a big sister thing. And she sorta asked me to… push Weiss around a bit." She scratched the back of her head.

"What do you mean by that?" The Faunus didn't like the sound of that.

Yang sighed. "Winter told me to push Weiss into saying how she really felt. Unbound by what the SDC made her think, if you know what I mean."

"No, I get it. But push her too far, she'd just be afraid and never talk to us again. Just let Ruby handle it. Everything will be alright." Blake took Yang's hand. "I promise."

"Yeah… everything will be fine." But she couldn't help shake this bad feeling that things weren't going to be fine at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ruby, you're getting a little too clingy now. Will the mission go well? How will Weiss take the news? Find out in the later chapters!
> 
> Thanks LieutBrook, GrnDrgnzrd, Dying_Inside, LavendurX, Dragonqueen1993, and xoxoHannahxoxo for the reviews! See y'all next time!


	14. Responsibilities

Weiss stirred awake and wondered where she was for a moment, then realized that she had fallen asleep watching Ruby upgrade her weapon. She sat up and looked around, and gave a warm smile seeing Ruby asleep next to her.

She got up as quietly as she could and got a blanket from her bed, covering the younger woman with it before sitting back down. She truly did miss moments like these, but did she have the right to come back after all this time?

Weiss sighed quietly to herself. She misunderstood Jaune and Ruby's plans to cheer her up. She avoided them for years. Heck, she felt like she barely kept her promise to Blake. How could they just accept her back so readily after all that?

The CEO snapped out of her thoughts when there was a soft knock on her door. Ruby stirred a bit but Weiss whispered to her. "Keep sleeping, Ruby. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Once she was sure that Ruby wouldn't wake up, she walked towards the door and opened it as quietly as she could. She didn't expect to see Yang at the door.

"Yang?" Weiss took a step back. "I didn't do anything to Ruby."

"I'll talk to you about that later." Yang rolled her eyes. "Listen, Winter called and she asked me to tell you to call her back." She frowned when she saw Weiss's expression. "Apparently, Whitley woke up."

Weiss stared at Yang. Why would Winter call Yang? Was she lying to her? She rushed to get her scroll to call Winter, noticing that there were five missed calls. Two from Winter and three from Amber.

"Weiss… After you talk with Winter, there's something that I need to talk to you about." Yang looked at her seriously.

"I suppose that… we were long overdue for our talk back in Atlas." Weiss frowned as she looked away, holding her left arm.

"Yeah…" Yang nodded and looked at Ruby. "She's really tired, isn't she?"

Weiss nodded. "She most likely fell asleep after upgrading my weapon." She looked at her scroll then at Ruby, then at Yang. "I'll leave a note for her saying that I'll be in your room…"

"She's been really clinging onto you lately, hasn't she?" Yang raised a brow. "Isn't it annoying?"

"Of course not." Weiss shook her head. "If I'm being honest… I actually… miss all of your company."

"We missed you too." Yang gave her a weak smile and turned to leave. "Well, I'll see you in my room after your call with Winter." She paused for a moment then looked at Weiss again. "If I promise that I won't become angry with our talk, will you stay with us for a while longer? No matter how your talk with Winter goes?"

"I… can't promise that. I'm not sure what she wants to talk to me about." Weiss frowned. "But I will promise that I'll stay for our talk at the very least."

Yang sighed. She didn't know what to think about that really. She was glad that Weiss was going to stay a bit longer, but she didn't like how the smaller woman couldn't promise to stay. It was almost as if she were admitting that she would leave once she felt like she didn't need to stay here any longer.

"It's something… now hurry up before Ruby wakes up and clings onto your arm before we have our little talk." Yang waved her hand and left.

Weiss sighed as she wrote her note saying where she would be and set it next to Ruby, taking her weapon before she called Winter just outside the room.

" _Hello?_ "

"What is it, Winter? Is there something wrong with the SDC?" Weiss frowned, unsure of why her sister was calling.

" _I suppose that there is a problem._ " Winter started, then continued. " _Whitley woke up_."

Weiss stared in front of her, unsure of how to take the news. Yang was telling the truth after all? Wait, was Whitley even waking up a good thing? Bad? She didn't get along with him as she did with Winter, but at the same time he was still her little brother.

Her little brother that's been in a coma for the past five years, who she hasn't had a chance to really talk with for twice as long at least.

" _Weiss? Are you still there? I just wanted to call to let you know that he's awake. There may be some complications within the SDC though._ "

"Right, they would want me back as soon as possible." Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll be there after the hunt tomorrow."

" _A hunt? Weiss, is that safe? I know that your team is with you but—_ " Winter was concerned but was interrupted by Weiss.

"It'll be fine, Winter." Weiss frowned, unsure if she would be. But she had to finish this talk, explain things to Yang, and disappear from her family once again. Wait. No, that wasn't right. Was it right to stay? Everyone said so. But there's still so much to do back in Atlas.

" _Weiss_." Winter spoke, snapping Weiss out of her thoughts. " _You're home with your family. You don't have to pick between them. What is it that_ you  _want?_ "

Weiss blinked. What was she talking about? "What I want… is to finish my business in Atlas before I can find my happiness." That was for the best, right? Even though she wanted to stay by Ruby's side.

Winter sighed heavily. " _I'll let the board members know that you're on a hunt and will be back as soon as it's over._ "

"Thank you, Winter. I love you." Weiss leaned against the door.

" _I love you too. See you soon._ "

Once the call ended, Weiss sighed. Now for Yang… The CEO walked towards Yang's room and hesitated to knock. She remembered the first time they tried to talk and how  _well_  that went.

* * *

I was finally back at the office and had a lot of much needed work ahead of me that I needed to catch up on. I occasionally glanced over at Flame to make sure that he was alright as well. We were released from the hospital a week ago and were finally allowed to work again. It was driving me crazy when I couldn't do any of my work, and I desperately needed a distraction. The events that happened just a month ago were still haunting me.

"Miss Schnee, we're glad to have you back." One of the older men greeted me as I walked through the doors.

"I am glad as well. I filed some paperwork while I was in the hospital." I sighed, wondering how much other work had piled up while I was gone. As soon as I sat down in my office, there was a call.

"Miss Schnee, there's someone at the front gate demanding your presence."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I knew that I wouldn't be able to relax at work, but should I be glad that I had some sort of distraction? I called for Flame to accompany me. If I were to get too tired from this visitor, I could just have him deal with them. There was a chance that they could be threatening as well. It had happened a few times before in the past.

I walked towards the gate and was surprised to see who was there.

"…Yang?"

"You really were alive, Ice Queen." Yang stared at me in disbelief. She grabbed the gate, almost shaking it. "What the hell were you doing these past three years here in Atlas?! Do you know how worried we were when we heard the news about you being in that Dust accident last month?!"

"I thought I told them to not release information about that." I clicked my teeth and looked at Yang. "Five minutes. Say what you want for five minutes. That's all the time I have to spare." I wasn't ready to see her again. I wasn't ready to see her again. I could almost see many Faunus workers that I failed to save behind her. Not only that, I could feel familiar silver eyes looking at me, almost wishing that I could've done better.

Heck, I didn't expect her to be here this soon, or to even hear the news. I had too much work to catch up on as well. If I didn't finish this quickly… Yang's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Fi—Don't give me that crap, Weiss! There's too much to talk to you about in that time!" She growled at me, almost bending the metal bars of the gate from her anger and annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Yang. But there's too much I still need to do. I can't go back to Vale. I can't see Ruby either. Not until I have fulfilled my purpose here." I stated almost robotically. It was a line that I had rehearsed over and over again in case the others ever came to see me. I knew that was the main thing that my former teammates would have wanted to talk about if I ever saw them again.

Yang just stared at me in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me… What purpose?! As far as I can tell, the Faunus are treated much better here already! I went to a café to get some information to see how things are now, and they said that they like you and how the company is running now! The only complaint that I'm hearing is that they think that you're working  _too_  hard! Haven't you ever learned that overworking is bad for you?!"

"It's not enough!" I clenched my fists as I shook my head. "It's just… not enough."

There was no way that everything I've done so far was enough. The people still don't trust me. And I need to find people that I can trust to run the SDC with me before I can do anything else.

I held onto my head with one hand and sighed, looking at Flame. "Open the gates and let her into the meeting room on the first floor. She won't leave until she's said what she wants to say. Please leave us alone and help Winter while you wait. I'll call for you once we're done."

"Understood." Flame nodded and walked towards the gates. Just before he opened it, he gave Yang a look that was saying 'If you do anything reckless, you will regret it,' then turned away from her.

I smiled slightly to myself as Yang followed him and I quickly informed the guards who she was and to let her through if she came by again. I knew that it was risky, but it would've been safer to have them let her through.

I sighed to myself, mentally preparing myself for anything that Yang wanted to talk about, and was about to open the door, but I overheard them speaking.

"Who the hell do you think you are? What the hell has Weiss been up to since she's been here?" Yang huffed.

"My name is Flame. I am Schnee's bodyguard. As for your other question, that is too classified for me to say. If you have any questions directed to Schnee, you should talk to her assistant first before talking to her, as she is a very busy woman." I chuckled to myself, imagining that Flame was rolling his eyes.

"Don't be a smartass with me, you punk!"

Oh no. I opened the door to see her about to throw a punch at my bodyguard.

"Quick to anger as always, I see." I frowned then looked at Flame. "You may leave for now. I'll call for you if I need anything. Tell Amber that my meetings today may need to be rescheduled."

"Yes, ma'am." Flame nodded then left.

I looked towards my former teammate in time to see her eye twitch as she watched Flame leave, but then raised a brow when she saw his ears. Oh, right…

"He's a Faunus?" She mumbled, unsure of what she just saw.

"Yes, he is a Faunus and my bodyguard." I sighed as I took a seat on the couch, crossing my legs and looking up at Yang. "What is it that you want, Yang?"

"Since when did you have a Faunus bodyguard? Since when did the SDC allow Faunus to work outside of being miners?" Yang moved towards the couch, sitting down and staring at me.

I took a deep breath. It would make sense that that would be one of her concerns. Guess I have to explain some things from the beginning, don't I? I folded my hands as I looked at Yang.

"It was only recently where the Faunus could work almost any job they wanted. It took me three years, but I've kept part of the promise that I made with Blake long ago." I frowned as I looked away. "Though it's still not enough." I sighed as I leaned back onto the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "I may have allowed the Faunus to work within the SDC, but now the people are still questioning me. I have to work harder in order for them to live as equals."

She didn't respond so I sat up and looked at her, frowning. She looked shocked by the news, but I had too many things to think about right now.

"Yang, we only have about five to ten minutes before I need to get back to work."

That seemed to snap her out of it.

"Oh, cut the crap, Weiss!" Yang slammed her hands down onto the table and glared at me. "That's  _still_  not enough time for you to explain what the hell happened to you, and why you didn't tell us that you were even alive!"

"Was there a reason for me to tell everyone that I'm alive? I believe it was clear that after that mission, we were to part ways." I looked at Yang. "Or did you all forget that?"

It was for the best, wasn't it? Ruby was happy with Jaune. Blake and Yang were on their way with their own happiness. They didn't need me, and I needed to take care of the SDC… At least to try to fix most of the problems and keep my promise to Blake.

"Are you  _really_  Weiss Schnee? The same person that attended Beacon with us years ago?" Yang stood up. "What about us? The team? What about  _Ruby_?"

I raised a brow, unsure of where she was going with this.

"My name is Weiss Schnee. But I'm not the same person as I was." I admitted and got up, turning away from her. "I'm sorry, Yang. But I can't see Ruby. She's safe and that's all that matters to me."

"Even if she can't remember you?! Surely that must make you upset!"

Wait, what was she talking about?

"Wha…?" I started, but she interrupted me.

"…So our  _real_  friend, Weiss, is dead? Is that what you're telling me?"

I frowned. After that day of hearing Jaune asking Ruby out… After that day of making sure that Ruby was safe on that mission, and waking up alone in the hospital... I couldn't bare to come back and personally check on my team.  _My family_. I was scared.

"That is correct. The Weiss that you knew is gone, and she won't be coming back." I stated, knowing that would be the last straw to make Yang snap.

_SMACK_

I grunted as I was slammed onto the wall and raised a hand to my left cheek, rubbing it a bit. My expression didn't change as I looked at Yang.

"To hell with that! Give her back! Give back my sister's best friend!" Yang's fists shook as her eyes glowed red, tears falling from her eyes. "Give back  _our_  Weiss!"

"And I told you that she's  _gone_." I stood my ground.

_Please. I want to go home. But is there really still a place for me there?_

"Like hell! Our Weiss wouldn't have given up that easily! She would've kept fighting until the bitter end! She wouldn't leave my sister alone if she had the choice! What  _you_  are is a coward!

"You're wrong." I looked at Yang with self-hate in my eyes. "Yes, we were close. However… I felt like she was far away from me. Even though we were standing next to each other. We were partners, and fought so well together. But I couldn't reach her." I laughed at myself as I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. Venting just a bit of what I was feeling back then. "I wasn't good enough to call myself her partner… her best friend." Tears started to fall from my eyes. "She gave me the world… but I have nothing to give back to her. I'm sorry."

Yang stared at me, frowning. "You still love her… don't you? After all this time… since we were at Beacon? Even after that mission? She's been on your mind… all this time?"

"I never stopped. For these past three… no, six years, I never once stopped."  _Even when she was with Jaune…_  "Even when we were separated,  _she_  never left my mind once. And I doubt that she ever will."

"…Don't." Yang's fist shook as she closed her eyes. I guess that did it. Yang wouldn't want to see or talk to me anymore. "Don't come back. I won't allow this  _coward_  to come back home to  _our_  family."

"I wasn't going to anyways." I frowned, watching her stare at me for a moment before she left.

Once she was gone, I slumped against the wall and slid down, pulling my knees to my chest and sobbing quietly.

_Stop. Don't cry. You deserve this. There's no home for you._

* * *

Weiss snapped out of her thoughts when the door opened and she saw Yang staring back at her.

"Yang, I…" Weiss started, almost afraid.

"… Come on inside." She stated, moving aside a bit so Weiss could walk in.

Weiss hesitated but took a deep breath, walking into the room. She watched Yang close the door and pull up a chair for Weiss to sit on as she sat on the bed. The smaller woman moved towards the chair and sat down, clenching her skirt as she looked at Yang.

"…My younger brother… Whitley woke up. You were right..."

"Winter told me." Yang frowned. "Are you leaving us?  _Again_?"

"I…!" Weiss frowned. Yang wasn't wrong, but she wasn't right either. "After this mission… I'll be going back to the SDC." She bit her lip and continued. "But I'll be coming back. If you'll allow me to."

"Why would you want to come back?" Yang raised a brow, being careful while questioning her this time. "You told me before that you didn't have a reason to come back."

"I…" Weiss looked down. She was right. She didn't really have a reason to come back. Ruby flashed in her mind for a moment, then she looked up at Yang. The brawler looked like she expected some sort of answer. "Ruby… She wants me back… that's… reason enough, isn't it?" She was confused as she said that.

"Why are you so unsure? Your hesitation is basically telling me that you're struggling to find a reason to stay." Yang huffed, crossing her arms.

"You're the one that's been trying to get me to come back! I'm back now, Yang! What else do you want me to do?" Weiss stood up, having this strong urge to just run away.

"Tell me… or at least tell  _Ruby_  why you want to stay!" Yang stood up and made sure that she would be able to stop Weiss from running away again. "You've been doing nothing but running away from us, Weiss. Using the SDC as an excuse to hide. We all know that you want something else. Why can't you just be honest with yourself?"

"I-I just…" Weiss was shaking then let out a sound of surprise when Yang pulled her close. "Y-Yang?"

The brawler didn't say anything and just held the smaller woman closer, running a hand through her hair as she held her.

Weiss didn't know what to do and slowly reached around her back, returning the hug in confusion. Didn't Yang hate her? What brought this on?

"You don't have to run from us." Yang frowned, pushing aside her anger and deciding to give Weiss another chance. "We're family. That means that we're here for each other."

After her talk with Winter and Blake, and thinking about it for years, she could only imagine how much Weiss was hurting, mentally and physically.

"No matter what, family always helps each other out, no matter how big or little the problem. And well…" Yang took Weiss's left arm and looked at it. "I guess we have something in common besides caring for Ruby."

"….Brute." Weiss gave her a weak smile, her hand shaking when Yang observed it carefully.

"I'm surprised that you can fight well with it. It took me a while, but casting glyphs and everything, that must've been hard."

"Not necessarily." Weiss shook her head and decided her next words carefully. "It was hard, but I got used to it…" She motioned Yang's own arm. "Just like how you did. Even the reasons we lost our arms were… similar."

Yang grinned. "I guess our little Princess still has it… and I guess I could leave Ruby in your care… as long as you don't abandon her this time."

"Brute…" Weiss gave a weak smile.

"So… what's the plan?" Yang pulled back a bit.

"I'm not Ruby, so I don't know if this would be the correct choice, but…" Weiss bit her lip and thought about it for a moment, then looked at Yang. "I'll be going back to Atlas to take care of the SDC for a while, as I said."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for being a bit late to upload! I had a fun birthday to relax a bit and a third of this was written months ago for the original idea but hoped that it worked out in the end. Some parts had to clarify a bit more to my editor as well. Hoped that you all enjoyed and don't get too mad at Weiss! And hoped that the flashbacks aren't too confusing!
> 
> Thanks Dragonqueen1993, GrnDrgnzrd, LavendurX, and LieutBrook for the reviews! See ya next time!


	15. Decisions

"I'll be going back to Atlas to take care of the SDC for a while…" The CEO paused for a moment before looking at her former teammate. "Would you and the others accompany me?" Weiss looked at Yang, knowing that it wouldn't be enough to be forgiven, but it was still something… hopefully.

"Weiss…" Yang sighed, shaking her head. "Even after all of this, the SDC is more important to you than us?"

"Yang." Weiss stated sternly. "I'm not abandoning anyone. But I can't abandon my duties as the head of the SDC."

Yang didn't like the sound of that. But Weiss had a point. As the head of the SDC, she couldn't stay away for too long. How much was she putting off just because of her own selfish wish to keep her here? But there were a few things that she wanted to make sure of…

"…What about Ruby?" The brawler frowned as she looked at Weiss. "I know that you said that you're not abandoning anyone, and that you want us to accompany you, but do you really want to go back to the SDC so quickly? Do you really want to leave  _your home_  here?"

"That's why I was offering to have you all accompany me." Weiss rubbed her head in annoyance. "At least I'm not lying to go anywhere." Just when she thought that things were going well between herself and Yang, she now felt that this recent news just made them revert back to what had happened when they met two years ago.

"Is that what this is about? Is this what you really think?" Yang's eye twitched. "I'm  _sorry_  for lying, but you wouldn't have come back if we told you the truth. Hell, if I hadn't lied, we would've been dead! You wouldn't even have had another chance to talk to us, because you're so damn scared to return here! You're always using the SDC as an excuse to run away from us, too. Is fixing your father's problems more important than us?" She bit her lip and took a deep breath.

Did she still have the right to be annoyed and angry with Weiss anymore? She came back… and the only reason she's returning to Atlas is because of her brother waking up from his coma. But was she going to come back? How were Ruby and the others going to take the news? Sure, she felt bad for lying to Weiss about Ruby dying, but at the same time, she was mad that Weiss only came back because of it.

"You're right. I'm scared. I still don't believe that I belong here, but seeing all of you again…" Weiss laughed at herself. "I really did miss all of you."

Just as she thought, things weren't fine. She hated how Blake told her to trust the others when she felt that she didn't deserve it. She hated how Yang felt she had to lie just to bring her back. But out of everything, she hated herself for misunderstanding Ruby and Jaune. Some 'best teammate' she promised to the young leader. She should've just believed in her partner. Instead, she ran away and used the SDC as an excuse to avoid everyone, working herself to keep the one promise that she thought that she could keep.

Weiss shook her head. This wasn't the right mindset to be in before the hunt. Too much negativity would lead to them failing in their mission. There was no way that she was going to have a repeat of what happened last time, after all.

"Weiss…" Yang started but stopped herself. "Go back to Ruby and let her know. She'll be really sad if you just disappeared from her life. Again." She knew that Weiss offered them to go with her back to Atlas, but she just wanted to let Weiss know that if anything happened to her, they'd be sad.

"I know…" Weiss shook her head. "I'm sorry for this, Yang. For not explaining before, and not coming back like you wanted two years ago."

"I don't want to hear it." Yang shook her head. "You've been through a lot. I was just… angry. I mean I still am about your choice, but…" She placed a hand on the smaller woman's shoulder. "I believe that you'll come back. To Ruby, at least."

"Right." Weiss nodded then turned towards the door. "Just so you know. I'm not happy with you lying to me either. About how Ruby was dying. I don't know if I can trust you or Winter when you're giving me news about Ruby." She turned back towards Yang. "So this is why I'll be back as soon as my work with the SDC is over." Her eyes softened a bit. "I should get back to my room. Make sure that everything is ready to go for the hunt tomorrow."

"I don't blame you. Blake was against that idea too." Yang gave a weak smile. "But we're counting on you. It's been years since we've actually gone on a mission together, but I still trust your skills."

Weiss flinched when Yang said that and gave a stiff nod. "That's a lot of trust to give someone that you haven't fought together with for years and then lied to." She chuckled weakly. "But… thank you. Good night, Yang. Take tonight to think about that offer."

"Good night, Weiss. And I will. I'll give you my answer in the morning. I'll tell Blake about it. But you should tell Ruby yourself."

"Right…"

* * *

Weiss made her way towards her room and sighed as she got ready for bed. There was a knock on the door and she opened it, surprised by who was there.

"…Ruby?"

"Weiss, uh…" Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "C-Can I stay with you tonight?"

"S-Sure. Are you feeling alright?" Weiss frowned, placing a hand onto her forehead to test her temperature.

"Y-Yeah, I just… had a bad nightmare earlier, and I keep getting a really bad feeling when you're not near me for some reason." Ruby felt childish for admitting that.

Weiss frowned "If you want, we can talk about it. If you think it'll help you feel better." She allowed Ruby into her room. "And well… I have something to talk to you about too." She bit her lip as she watched Ruby move towards the bed.

"It… it was about what happened before. I guess it wasn't really a nightmare, just… a memory that I can't remember? If you know what I mean." Ruby forced a smile.

Thinking back on it now, being surrounded by a pack of Beowolves, fighting to the point of exhaustion, then a Deathstalker coming to finish her off?

She shuddered at the memory and shook her head, wanting to move on from the topic. "W-What is it that you wanted to talk about, Weiss?" She sat on the bed, looking at Weiss. Her heart was starting to pound and she couldn't control it.

The older woman frowned, but respected that Ruby didn't want to talk about her dreams. Whatever it was, it frightened her enough. Heck, she wanted to spend the night together, after all!

"I received a call earlier from my older sister, Winter. I'll be going back to Atlas for a short while for some business. I don't know how long I'll be there either." Weiss bit her lip then looked at Ruby. "I was wondering… if you, Yang, and Blake would accompany me back home?"

Ruby stared at Weiss in shock. She was leaving. Going back to Atlas. She didn't know why, but she didn't like the sound of it.

"Y-You can't go back! You just came here and…" Ruby stopped herself, realizing how childish she was sounding. "H-How soon are you leaving?"

"After the mission tomorrow." Weiss looked away and held onto her arm. "I know that it's too soon to give me an answer, but I would like one before we leave tomorrow. For the mission." She gave a weak smile. "I really did enjoy our time together, Ruby. You're your own person, so no matter what choice you make, I'll respect it. I won't force you into making a decision, but I will promise you that I'll try to come back as soon as I can."

Tomorrow morning. Give Weiss an answer if she was going with her to Atlas or not? Ruby continued to stare at her former partner, unsure of what she should be feeling. She wanted to go with her! That much was obvious, but why was she feeling like this? Sure, they were partners before, but now? They were strangers. Why was it that she felt so childish being by Weiss's side? Even more than being by Yang's side, and they were sisters, for Oum's sake!

It didn't help that Weiss said that she'd respect her choice either. She had a point. Ruby was her own person. She could make her own choices.

Wait here for who knows how long for Weiss to come back, or go with her and stay by her side. With how she's been feeling, the choice was obvious.

Just as Ruby was about to give her reply, she looked into Weiss's eyes and was lost within them in seconds.

It was almost as if she were lost at sea, floating on her back as she looked up at the sky. She could almost feel how lonely she was just looking within them.

"Ruby?" Weiss frowned.

The younger woman snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "I-I'm sorry. What?"

"We should get some sleep. You need your rest for tomorrow." Just as Weiss was about to turn to place her weapon away, Ruby grabbed her sleeve. She raised a brow as she looked at the younger woman. "Ruby? I'm not leaving."

"I-I know, but I just…" Ruby bit her lip then looked up at Weiss. Why was she feeling like this? Why was it that Weiss made her feel this way? So safe, yet at the same time it made her feel immature? "Y-You're gonna sleep with me, right?"

"I'll be in the same room." Weiss was wondering what Ruby was getting at.

Ruby shook her head. "I mean in the same bed!" She blushed as she practically shouted that. "Y-Yang lets me sleep with her when I have a nightmare… and I feel more comfortable being with you."

"Ruby, you're not a child. You're a strong leader." Weiss sighed, then flinched at the puppy-eyed pout Ruby was giving her. Feeling like she'd kicked a puppy every time she saw that look on Ruby's face, she relented. "F-Fine… just this once…"

Ruby's eyes lit up with joy as she crawled under the covers, watching Weiss with childish eyes as she placed her weapon away and turned off the lights. The younger woman scooted over so that there was room on the bed and quickly latched herself onto Weiss once she felt the weight of the bed shift.

"R-Ruby… you're really close…" Weiss didn't mind it, considering Ruby did say that her nightmare scared her. It made her wonder what kind of nightmare it was, though. "Are you sure that you don't want to talk about it? Your nightmare, I mean."

"I…" Ruby frowned and nuzzled against Weiss's shoulder. "W-We were all together on a hunt. You, me, Yang, and Blake. We were… overwhelmed by Beowolves and… I turned to see everyone on the ground, bleeding to death. Then this… this giant Deathstalker crawled up…" Ruby shook as she held onto Weiss closely.

Weiss frowned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, running a hand through her hair. "Ruby, nothing that bad will happen." Well, it did on that mission years ago. Did that mean that Ruby was regaining her memories of that time? Of her?

"But what if it does, Weiss? I'm scared!" Ruby whined.

"It won't. Because I'll protect you if and when that happens. I promise you that." Weiss held onto Ruby closely, running a hand through her hair to calm her down.

Ruby just nodded weakly as she shifted in Weiss's arms so that her head was resting on her chest. She closed her eyes and allowed the older woman's heartbeat to lure her to sleep.

* * *

Weiss stirred awake when she felt the sun rays hitting her face. That was odd. She was usually up before sunrise and she felt… warm. Warmer and more comfortable than she'd felt in  _years_.

She looked down and saw that Ruby was still cuddled up by her side, arms wrapped around her body and head resting on her chest. Smiling to herself, Weiss carefully ran a hand through Ruby's hair. She'd dreamt of this moment for years, and closed her eyes to savor it. ' _She's so warm... I wish that I could just never wake up from this dream... The_  real  _Ruby would never be close to me like this._ '

"Weiss…" Ruby mumbled in her sleep.

Weiss snapped her eyes open and looked down at Ruby to see if she was actually awake or not. "Ruby…?" Was it another nightmare? She could feel the warmth coming from her former partner, so this couldn't be an illusion either.

"Mmm…" Ruby slowly stirred awake and sat up, stretching and yawning.

"Good morning, Ruby." Weiss broke the silence and moved to sit up as well.

"Gah!" Ruby jumped and looked towards her right side to see Weiss looking back at her. "W-Weiss! Uh… G-Good morning…!"

"Did you forget that you asked to sleep with me last night?" Weiss raised a brow and got off the bed. "Go wash up. We still need to double check our supplies so that we're ready for the hunt later."

Ruby nodded as she got off the bed as well. Sleeping with Weiss made her feel better about her nightmare, but now she just felt guilty for practically forcing the CEO to follow through with her immature request of sleeping together.

Not only that, but Weiss was going to leave after this mission. Her heart was pounding at the thought of Weiss leaving and she didn't know why. Shaking that thought out of her head, she made her way towards the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She looked up and saw a Beowolf in the mirror.

Screaming, she jumped back and grabbed her toothbrush to try to defend herself, but there was nothing there.

"Ruby?!" Weiss ran into the bathroom. "What's wrong?!"

"S-Sorry! Nothing, I was still half asleep and almost fell!" Ruby laughed nervously as she tried to calm down. Luckily, knowing that Weiss was nearby helped calm her nerves.

Frowning, Weiss nodded and just stayed by Ruby's side, having a feeling that being near her would help. She closed her eyes, reminiscing about the time they were back at Beacon and shared the dorm bathroom.

Yang taking an hour to take care of her hair, Ruby bursting in to brush her teeth, Blake on the bed reading her book while waiting for her turn.

She truly missed those days.

"Weiss?" Ruby finished brushing her teeth and washing her face. "Uhm… y-you can use it now."

"R-Right… Go make sure that your weapon and supplies are ready, then we can go meet with Yang and Blake before we leave for the hunt." Weiss nodded and went towards the sink to brush her teeth and wash her face.

"W-Weiss… about your offer from last night…" Ruby frowned as she peeked into the bathroom.

Weiss didn't expect Ruby to come up with a final decision right that second. She wiped her face with a towel then looked at Ruby. "I'd like to hear your response along with Yang and Blake's." She needed to make sure that this is what  _Ruby_  wanted after all. "Are you ready to go after breakfast?"

"I am…" Ruby nodded, grabbing her red cloak and weapon. She double checked her supplies and watched Weiss doing the same thing. Her heart fluttered seeing Weiss in that white cloak. "Hey Weiss…? Where did you get that cloak from?"

"You might not believe me, but…" Weiss gave her a soft smile. "You made this for me. We were in our second year at Beacon, and you made this for me as a Christmas present." She shook her head. "After my work with the SDC is done, I'd be more than happy to come back and share more stories with you."

"I'd love to hear more of these stories!" Ruby grinned and walked with Weiss towards the dining room, seeing some waffles on the table. "Morning, Yang! Morning, Blake! Ready for the hunt?"

"Good morning, Ruby." Blake gave them a smile. "Good morning, Weiss. I hope that you both slept well." She then frowned. "Weiss… Yang told me about your offer last night." The Faunus went straight to the point. "We talked about it, and… to give you less to worry about, we decided to go with you. We won't go to the SDC, but we'll stay in a hotel nearby. It might be nice, walking around Atlas, if we're allowed to."

Weiss was surprised by that response and looked at Yang, who just looked away, scratching the back of her head. "I didn't really plan on going, but… I would like to see how much Atlas has changed. I didn't really get that chance when I went to visit you before."

"I understand." Weiss nodded, still surprised by their choices, and looked at Ruby. "Are you staying here in Vale? Or going with us to Atlas?"

"If Yang and Blake are going, I'll be going too!" Ruby nodded. ' _Even if they weren't going, I was still going to follow you back to Atlas. I want to know more about you, after all._ '

"I guess it's settled. I'll contact Winter on the way towards the mission site. I assume that we're all ready to go once we're fed?" Weiss pulled out her scroll to check the time and if she had any missed messages.

She saw that there was one from Amber, and sent a quick text stating that after the hunt, she'll be back in Atlas with her team.

"Alright, let's go kick some Grimm butt." Yang stuffed the last of her waffle in her mouth.

"An Alpha Beowolf and about a dozen in it's pack. We don't need a full team, but after being attacked by the Flora-Sleep Grimm from last time, this is a good chance to see what our skill levels are, isn't that right, Yang?" Blake reminded them what their mission was and finished her cup of tea, gathering the plates and putting them in the sink.

"I certainly hope that you three are up to the task. It's been over a week." Weiss nodded. "Not that I have much to say. I am rusty with hunting myself."

"But you know some hand to hand, so I don't have to worry too much about you losing your weapon." Yang grinned.

"Oh, very funny." Weiss rolled her eyes and made sure that she had everything before walking out with them, feeling nervous about being on an official hunt.

Ruby took Weiss's hand. "It'll be alright. I think everything will be just fine!" She didn't want to admit that she was nervous as well, but she was the leader! The leaders were supposed to be reassuring their teammates that everything would be alright in the end!

"I guess you're right." Weiss gave her a soft smile and squeezed her hand back. As long as they had each other, everything would be all right.

* * *

"You four are Team RWBY?" A middle aged lady greeted them. "My name's Garnet. I asked for help to take care of these Beowolves. We can keep them out of the village, but they seem to be getting aggressive lately. I'm worried about letting the villagers out of the village to gather the supplies that we need…"

"Don't worry. We can take care of them!" Ruby grinned cheerfully. "Just leave it to us! Where are they usually seen? We'll make sure that they won't come near this village ever again!"

"Dummy, stop making promises before we begin." Weiss mumbled under her breath, not wanting to be too negative before the mission began.

"Oh? So you  _are_  worried." Yang frowned.

"It's not like that." Weiss huffed. "Grimm are constantly appearing. We can't promise that we'd get rid of the Grimm completely." As much as she wished for the same thing as Ruby, they never understood where Grimm came from. Was it even possible to stop the Grimm from spawning? "Anyways, we should finish this mission. Atlas nights are cold. Especially when we're nearing winter…"

"So… does this mean that Winter is Weiss cold in winter?" Yang snickered.

Weiss just slapped her forehead and sighed deeply. "I don't understand what Blake sees in you…"

"What was that?" Yang raised a brow.

"Nothing." Weiss stood straight when Ruby was on the way back. "Where are the Grimm?"

"In the North-West side of the forest. There's a den around there…" Ruby trailed off as she looked behind her team. "We should go! I already see some Grimm!"

"Ruby!" Yang called for her but Ruby had already used her semblance to run into the forest. "We can't leave her alone for too long, let's g—Hey!"

Weiss already activated her semblance and used a line of glyphs to catch up to Ruby, making sure that the glyphs stayed for a while longer so that Yang and Blake could catch up to them.

"Weiss, doesn't that tire you out?" Blake frowned as she caught up with them. "Don't push yourself too much."

"I'll be fine. Compared to my other glyphs, this is child's play." Weiss frowned and used a glyph to block a Beowolf lunging at them. "Enough talk, time for our mission."

"Right." Blake nodded and pulled out her weapon, using Weiss's glyphs to boost her speed to slice through the Beowolves.

The cat Faunus missed this. Working together with Weiss and the sisters while going on missions. Part of her missed this… until she heard a familiar scream.

"Ruby?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Not gonna many any excuses. I was just being lazy. I'm sorry. Hoped that y'all enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Thanks GrnDrgnzrd, LavendurX, IanAlphaAxel, LieutBrook, and DreamingParadise14 for the reviews! See y'all next time!


	16. That Mission

The hunt was going well so far. Team RWBY each took care of two Beowolves. Ruby was about to tell them what a good job they were doing so far to raise morale, but stopped when she saw the Alpha slowly stalking towards her. She shivered at the sight and took a step back, shaking her head.

_This isn't the time to be scared!_

Ruby gripped Crescent Rose and was ready to slash at the Alpha, but she stopped when she saw it drooling. She knew that it was just black drool, but in her mind, she saw blood. Blood dripping down from it's jaw, and she was immediately brought back to the nightmares and images that she'd been seeing.

Ruby was tired, only having the energy to raise her arms to protect herself out of instinct. A figure rushed forward and took the hit that would've wounded her.

She screamed as she backed away, wanting to find someone. Anyone, really. She turned her back towards the Grimm.

"Ya—Bla—Wei-!" Her voice couldn't form proper words.

The Alpha growled as it raised it's claws and lunged at the young leader.

Ruby closed her eyes, holding her head in pain as images she didn't know appeared in her mind.

* * *

"Remember to stay on your toes. It may be a little flock of Nevermores, but it's nothing that we can't handle." I grinned at the team, trying to at least make Weiss reprimand me or Yang join me to crack a joke about this fight. She's been acting weird lately ever since she told me 'Good luck with Jaune' for some reason, and every time I've tried to talk to her about it, she'd just avoid me. She rarely came back to the room, and she's found some hidden places in Beacon where I can't find her.

There was no way that she thought that we liked each other, right? It was obvious that Jaune liked Weiss! Maybe Pyrrha too… Shaking that thought out of my mind, I gave a weak smile when Weiss looked at me.

"I would hardly count a flock of fifteen Nevermores 'little,' but I guess you're right."

There we go. A bit of Weiss was still there. I have to remember to talk to her after this mission. It seemed like there's been a lot on her mind, and sometimes she'd look at me as if she wanted a distraction. As team leader and her partner, I have to be firmer about making her talk to me! She had more than enough time by herself, and she managed to slip away each time when I tried talking to her before, but she won't escape this time!

"Ruby, we're here. What should we do?" I looked up when Blake told me where we were, then looked up to see some Nevermores flying around.

I thought about it for a moment, thinking of each of our abilities and semblances. I also thought about how we were all feeling. Yang still seemed agitated. I should let her blow off some steam. Blake seemed ok, and Weiss needed a distraction.

"Ready to use your glyphs to help us get up there?" I pointed towards the sky with my thumb. "Blake can cause a distraction with her shadows, while Yang and I can beat them down." I gave a small smile to Weiss. "And if it seems like we're in trouble and you can handle it, use your dust to watch our backs."

"Is that all?" Weiss almost seemed disappointed. Did she want to help us? I trusted her with her glyphs, but I don't want to exhaust her. I know how much using them tires her out, after all. And having her control where we fight should be more than enough distraction from whatever's been bothering her, right?

"For now. There might be more Grimm hiding around, so you can make sure that we all get out safely." I grinned. Did I give her enough encouragement? Was that enough to keep her mind off whatever was bothering her? I sure hope so... "I trust you, partner." I placed a hand onto her shoulder, smiling at her as I looked into her eyes.

Blake and Weiss gave each other a look, and I didn't like that. Frowning, I was about to say something, but the Nevermore shrieked above us.

I frowned again. Damn those Grimm. Shaking that thought out of my head, I looked towards the others. "Enough talk, time to fight, ladies! Let's go!" I ordered then looked at Weiss. "Hey… can we talk after this?" I bit my lip, not really setting up the right mindset, but I really wanted Weiss to know that I'd be there for her whenever she was troubled.

"Sure…?" I didn't like how unsure she sounded, but it was good enough for me.

"Great!" I grinned at her. "Ready whenever you are, BFF!"

I braced myself, glancing at the ground as her glyphs formed under my feet. Blake went up first, then Yang, then myself.

Weiss sent out multiple glyphs after and we jumped accordingly. To the untrained eye, she might've been throwing them out haphazardly, but to us, we knew which glyphs were for who. Thanks to training together, she knew where we wanted to go with a quick glance. In turn, we knew that she wanted to get us out safely with the slightest angle of her glyphs.

We trusted her more than anything to assist us with any hunts.

I crouched slightly on the glyph to give a sign that I needed a boost to slice through this Nevermore and felt myself accelerating not even a second later. I couldn't help but smile. That was Weiss for you, keeping her promise to me. She was so attentive to everyone's needs too. It made me want to work harder to become a better partner and friend to her.

I spun in the air and hacked at the Nevermore's wings, watching it slowly glide to the ground and disintegrate. I let out a soft grunt when Weiss's glyphs caught me and I jumped towards my next target.

"Whoo hoo!" Yang cheered as she flew in the sky, punching the beak off the Nevermore she was fighting as Blake cut off it's wings and head.

Well I'm glad that Yang's let off some steam…

I looked around, finishing up faster than I thought. Most of the Nevermores were gone before I realized it, and Weiss helped us down once it was clear.

I dusted myself off and grinned at the others, watching them closely to see how they were feeling.

Yang seemed less agitated than earlier, but I need to keep her away from Weiss a little longer. Especially with how she was looking at Weiss. Blake and Weiss were quiet and giving each other these weird looks… Did they have a talk about something before this hunt?

"Wei—" I started but she charged at me and pulled me aside.

"Ruby, look out!"

I looked at the ground and saw that it had cracked open. I sighed in relief and looked at Weiss who gave me this look of concern then quickly looked away, getting into her fighting stance.

I frowned. What was that about? I shook my head. I'll add that to the things that I'll talk to her about later. I gripped my weapon and saw a couple King Taijus and Deathstalkers crawling out. Were we near a nest and hive of them?

That was odd. Usually they wouldn't have nests and hives this close to one another. But why were they together then? Not only that, there was this weird drool coming from the King Taiju… That didn't seem normal as well.

Both of them were usually slow, but King Taijus had venom in them. Maybe that drool was some kind of venom? I snapped out of my thoughts when Weiss used a glyph to block the King Taiju from biting us.

"S-Sorry, Weiss." I apologized and quickly devised a plan. "BUMBLEBY!" I shouted as I converted Crescent Rose into its sniper form. "ICE FLOWER!"

Weiss looked at me then nodded, creating her glyphs as I aimed at the snake-like Grimm, knowing that Yang and Blake would kill that Grimm I was aiming for. I grinned once the first one was destroyed, then lunged towards Weiss when I noticed that the other King Taiju was lunging for her as well.

"Weiss!" I grunted when we rolled onto the ground. "Are you ok?!" I looked her over, relieved that she was alright.

"Ruby?!" Weiss wrapped an arm around me. She felt so warm and comforting.

I snapped out of my thoughts quickly when I saw the Grimm charging at us. I shoved Weiss away and smiled at her. "I love you." I then raised my weapon to block the bite that came.

It raised me into the air and I felt my strength draining. Was it the venom? Just as I was about to move Crescent Rose to shoot it in the mouth, it flung me aside.

I yelped and looked towards the ground. Weiss tried to use her glyphs to catch me, but she was too far. Gritting my teeth, I shot the air to accelerate myself towards the ground and hooked the tree to help me land.

Panting, I saw that Weiss was handling the King Taiju. Most likely out of rage thinking that I was hurt. It was cute to see how protective she is over me. It almost rivaled Yang!

Getting that thought out of my head, I was about to run back, but I couldn't activate my semblance. Frowning, I thought about it. Did that drool sap my entire aura? Or did it seal it? Either way, I was practically defenseless here if I was hurt.

I stopped when I heard the bushes rumbling and a pack of Beowolves ran towards me. Why were there so many Grimm so close together?! If it was just one Nevermore and one Deathstalker, that was one thing… but a flock of Nevermores, couple King Taijus and Deathstalkers, and a pack of Beowolves? Something wasn't right here.

Thanks to Yang's training, I didn't have to rely on my semblance and took out half of the pack before I reached for my pack to reload Crescent Rose… only to realize that my pack was gone!

"Shit." I cursed, thankful that Weiss wasn't here to reprimand me as I turned to run.

The others shouldn't be too far, right? I heard crashes on the way towards me, so I could only assume that was a Deathstalker or a King Taiju coming after me.

I tripped over a tree branch and grunted as I fell forward. Whimpering slightly at the pain, I heard the Beowolves catching up to me.

"Ruby!" Weiss called and I turned back to see that one of the Grimm had lunged at me.

I raised my arms out of reflex and felt someone grabbing my arm. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Weiss was pulling me aside with this terrified look on her face.

"Wha… Wei-!" I just realized what happened as I rolled on the ground.

By the time I looked up, time slowed down. The Beowolf slashed Weiss's arm as she cut off it's head. I practically saw every drop of blood that came out of her arm as it fell to the ground.

"Wei-!" I tried to move, but I couldn't from the shock, and looked up to see a Deathstalker crawling it's way over. "N-No…"

Weiss glared at the Deathstalker, grabbing the sword with her right hand and struggling to get up, but only fell onto the floor, clutching her arm in pain. She turned back to me, seemingly more worried about me than herself. "R-Run, you dolt…"

The Deathstalker raised its stinger, bringing it down quickly to finish the Beowolf's job and I screamed. The entire area was quickly covered in white light.

"WEISS!"

* * *

Ruby screamed as she remembered practically everything from that hunt and held onto her head, curling into a ball.

"Ruby!" Weiss rushed towards her former partner and pulled her into her arms, looking her over in case she was injured.

"Ngh… W-Wei…" Ruby leaned onto Weiss, keeping a grip onto her arm as she whimpered.

Blake moved by their side and Yang jumped in time to punch the Alpha as a distraction. The cat Faunus frowned and looked over Ruby. She didn't seem to be injured, but she did appear to be severely shaken up. She looked at Weiss and nodded.

"Weiss, can you bring Ruby back to the meet up place? Yang and I can tell the village head what happened, and I know that we'll be resting for a bit before we head off to Atlas. It might be best to have Ruby rest before we do anything too." Blake frowned as she looked at Ruby.

It was as if she were a child cowering within her mother's arms from a horrible nightmare.

"Right." Weiss nodded and stood up. "Can you stand?"

Ruby shook her head as she leaned more into Weiss's embrace, burying her head into her shoulder.

"Ruby… you need to work with me here." Weiss sighed then moved so that she was carrying her former partner bridal style.

Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss's neck and hid her face, breathing slowly to control it.

"Ruby?" Weiss frowned, worried about her. "Are you injured?"

"…ve you…" Ruby mumbled into her neck.

Weiss's eyes widened. Did she hear her properly? There was no way… right?

"Did you remember something?" Yang frowned as she approached them after making sure that the area was cleared. Ruby has been clingy towards Weiss ever since the CEO arrived. The way she was acting could only mean one thing… The blonde looked between them before looking at Ruby seriously. "Do you remember Weiss now?"

Blake and Weiss looked at Ruby, unsure of what to think if she really did. Ruby just stiffened and nodding into Weiss's shoulder.

"I… I remember everything…" Ruby whimpered. "From that fight… but anything with Weiss before that... not so much. Maybe the other memories might come back soon..."

"Ruby…" Weiss frowned. What does this mean now? "We can talk later. For now, we need to get out of here and report back to Garnet."

"Yeah." Blake and Yang agreed, leading them out.

Weiss kept a tight hold and attentive eye on Ruby, making sure that she was alright, but was worried about how uncharacteristically quiet Ruby was being, especially after remembering  _that_  fight.

"Ruby, how are you feeling?" Weiss nudged her head with her cheek, making sure that she was still awake.

"…urts." Ruby whimpered, mumbling into her neck.

"You have to speak up, Ruby." Weiss frowned.

"My head hurts from the memory… and my heart hurts from losing you for so long…" Ruby repeated, whimpering as she clutched onto Weiss's shirt. "I'm sorry… so sorry…"

"I don't blame you." Weiss frowned and looked ahead, seeing where they were. "We're here. You're going to eat and drink something, ok?"

Ruby nodded as Yang and Blake explained that they finished the mission to Garnet. She looked up and slowly drank the water from the offered water bottle from Weiss.

"Feeling better now?" Weiss looked at her, concern filling her icy-blue eyes.

"A little…" Ruby nodded then turned to face her former partner. "Weiss I… we…"

"We can talk later. After you process things a bit more." Weiss shook her head. As much as she wanted to talk to Ruby about what she remembers and how she feels, she didn't want Ruby to feel rushed.

Ruby frowned but nodded, looking down at the ground, then blinked when there was suddenly a cookie in front of her face.

"Have a snack. You're tired and need sugar to keep your energy up." Weiss waved it a bit, genuinely worried about her former partner's lack of energy.

"Thank you." Ruby gave her a weak smile then took the cookie, breaking it in half and offering the other half to Weiss. "We worked together. As much as I love cookies, you haven't eaten much since you came back to Vale."

Weiss merely rolled her eyes and broke that half piece in half and gave it back to Ruby. "I'll be fine without that much sugar." She looked up and saw Blake walking back towards them. "I take it that we can go back to your home to eat and relax before we leave for Atlas?"

"Right." Blake nodded then looked at Ruby. "Are you feeling alright to go back home for now? We don't have to go to Atlas if you're not feeling that great."

"I'm fine." Ruby stood up as she stuffed the cookie into her mouth then looked at Weiss. "Tomorrow…" She frowned then shook her head. "We should go home and make sure that we have everything for the trip to Atlas."

Weiss and Blake looked at each other with a frown then nodded.

"Let us know if you're not feeling great." Weiss dusted herself off and fixed her cloak, blinking when Ruby was suddenly in front of her. "W-What is it…?"

"You too… Remember that." Ruby frowned then started to lead the way home, making sure to grab Yang's arm on the way so that she could have a sisterly talk.

Blake raised a brow then looked at Weiss. "What do you think that's about?"

Weiss frowned as she saw the sisters walking off ahead of them. "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that Ruby and I will be having a serious talk soon, one that we've needed for years." She looked down. "Depending on how things go…"

"You should confess. Tell her how you really feel." Blake stopped walking for a moment then looked at Weiss. "Tell her how you felt back then, what you told me. I'll take care of Yang, but you need to deal with Ruby yourself."

"I know…" Weiss sighed, shaking her head. "But will you really take care of Yang? Is now even a good time?"

"Hey… you worry about Ruby. I'll worry about Yang." Blake felt her cheeks grow warmer.

"I'm sorry, Blake. And thank you. For everything." Weiss patted her shoulder then walked ahead to catch up to Ruby, planning what to tell her and explain her thoughts.

There was so much to explain, and the reasons why she avoided them just felt like excuses. Shaking her head to get those negative thoughts out of her mind, Weiss took a deep breath.

This was her team. They kept reassuring her that everything would be alright and that they believed in her. She needed to believe in them.

"I can do this… They believe in me… I can believe in them again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I still hate writing fight scenes... I almost gave up and wanted to keep it as "I jump. I cut. Nevermore's wings go poof. Ground crack. Snek and scorpion came out. Snek is bad. I ran. Weiss got ouchies from woof woof. Scorpio about to stab my crush. I scream. All is white. Everything dies." 
> 
> A-Anyways, thanks DreamingParadise14, GrnDrgnzrd, Dying_Inside, and LieutBrook for the reviews. See y'all next time!


	17. Together

Yang frowned as she listened to Ruby practically ranting about what she just remembered and how useless she felt.

"Ruby, calm down. You remember that fight now, and we were all wondering what happened during that time, but what are you going to do about it now?" Yang shook her head and placed her hands onto Ruby's shoulders. "Are you gonna try to confess to Weiss again? What do you plan on doing from now on?" She needed to at least know that much.

What does Ruby want to do with Weiss? And what does she plan on doing in the future, with or without her?

"I…" Ruby frowned and glanced back, seeing Weiss and Blake walking not too far behind them. "I don't… really know. My head still hurts and Weiss told me to think it over…" She sighed. "Yang, what if she still doesn't like me? It's been years after all, and…" The young leader rubbed her head. "I don't know how to talk to her anymore without feeling like an idiot…"

"Ruby. You've always been talking to her like an idiot." Yang snickered when Ruby slapped her arm. "What? It's true!"

"Ok, but really! What am I supposed to do?!" Ruby squirmed. "I really don't want things to be awkward…"

"You mean more than before?" Yang laughed when Ruby shot her a look. "Look, you just gotta talk to her-"

" _Talk to her_? Yang! You gave me that advice before and look where it got us! And you've been kinda mean to Weiss ever since she came back to Vale!" Ruby frowned at her.

Yang raised her hands up in defense. "Ok, well I've been kinda mean 'cause I'm still frustrated with her after everything that happened. And Winter asked me to push Weiss around a bit, since she's more honest with us than with her sister for some reason, but that hasn't really been helping much." She sighed and scratched the back of her head. "And as much as I really don't want you two to be alone with how awkward things are now, there are just some things that you need to talk about." She shook her head and got onto the bullhead. "We're going to Atlas, and gonna see a bunch of new things that she did there. Maybe praise her for it or something, and it'll be easier to talk to her?"

"I hope you're right…" Ruby sighed, getting onto the bullhead as well and looking out the window, thinking of what she should say to Weiss once they have a moment alone together.

* * *

Once the team had arrived back home and went to their respective rooms, Yang and Blake made sure that they had everything while Ruby flopped onto the bed.

"Ruby, are you still going to Atlas with us?" Weiss questioned as she grabbed her bags. "The bullhead will be here in a few hours. I would hate it if you forced yourself to ride a bullhead when you're not feeling well." She recalled earlier how Ruby was practically holding onto her during the ride as she tried to sleep. "I could arrange a different one to get you at a later time."

"I'll be fine after resting a little longer." Ruby mumbled as she turned to face Weiss. "By the time we leave, I should be feeling a bit better."

Weiss nodded and moved by Ruby's side, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "Just let me know if you're not feeling that well, alright?"

"Coming from you?" Ruby gave her a weak smirk and reached for Weiss's hand, holding onto it. "I think that I'll take a short nap. Stay here with me please?"

"Sure." Weiss nodded and moved the blanket over Ruby. "You do have everything packed and ready, correct?"

Ruby didn't bother answering her and was already asleep.

"Dolt…" Weiss sighed, shaking her head and just watching Ruby sleep, caressing her face before she started feeling drowsy herself and fell onto the bed next to Ruby.

A few hours later, Yang knocked on the door. "Weiss? Ruby? We're gonna be leaving…" She opened the door and stopped herself when she saw how cute Ruby looked when she snuggled up against Weiss as she slept.

Hating to ruin this adorable scene for the moment, Yang took a quick picture then shook Weiss awake. "Weiss. Wake up."

"Mmm…" Weiss stirred awake and rubbed her eyes, glancing behind her and seeing Yang. "Yang…?" Her eyes shot open as she sat up, thinking that they were late. "W-What time is it?!"

"Woah, woah! Calm down. We still have an hour before the bullhead arrives. I just wanted to make sure that both you and Ruby were ready, and see if you wanted to grab some food before we leave."

Weiss nodded then looked down at Ruby before looking at Yang. "Yang, I…" She bit her lip then took a deep breath. "I plan on confessing to Ruby about… a few things. Do I…-"

"I guess I'll let you date her… if she says yes  _and_  if you promise that you won't break her heart this time." Yang frowned. "Just know that I'm not going to forgive you this time if you hurt her."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Weiss didn't expect that to be so easy. "You were angry with me. Refusing to talk to me without berating me."

"Look, I had a reason." Yang frowned. "You're still family, and I wanted to trust you. Even though you chose to stay with the SDC, which did kinda piss me off." She sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Winter asked me to be hard on you, since you've been denying your own happiness all this time." The blonde then looked at Weiss seriously. "Have you decided what you wanted to do once your business with the SDC is finished?"

"What do—" Weiss started but Yang interrupted her.

"Cut the crap, Weiss. You know what you want. Stop being afraid to get it." Yang huffed then turned to leave. "I'm gonna assume that these bags are packed and ready? Ruby's bags are ready to go too, right?"

Weiss nodded. "I'll he—" She started but Yang shook her head.

"Wake up Ruby so we can get something to eat. I'm just loading up the bags by the front door so we're ready once the bullhead arrives."

"A-Alright…" Weiss nodded then turned towards Ruby, placing a hand onto her shoulder, and started to shake her. "Ruby. Ruby, wake up. We'll be leaving soon."

"Mmm… five more minutes…" Ruby mumbled as she turned over, cuddling with her pillow.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Ruby, we're going to be leaving for Atlas in an hour. Yang wants to get something to eat before we leave."

"Leav…" Ruby then shot up from her bed. "Don't leave me!"

"I'm not leaving you, you dolt!" Weiss placed her hands onto her shoulders to calm her down.

"R-Right…" Ruby frowned and got off the bed, looking around the room. "Where did my bag go?"

"Oh, Yang just took them to place them near the front doo—" Weiss didn't finish her sentence as Ruby already bolted out the door. "What are they up to?" She sighed as she got up and left the room.

The entire time, Weiss was quiet, planning out what she should say to Ruby when she had the chance, while Ruby herself was talking to Yang and Blake about what she remembered.

"So when we were separated, I noticed that King Taiju seemed different than usual and decided to draw it back a bit. I knew that Weiss had my back and would kill that Grimm while it was focusing on me." Ruby grinned, lying a bit about the last part and took a bite of her cheeseburger.

"Different how?" Blake questioned, genuinely curious about what Ruby knew.

"Hmm… it was almost like… it drains your aura?" Ruby thought about it. Now that she had her memory back about that day, she finally took the chance to think and analyze that fight. Her head hurt too much from that memory coming back. "I just mostly remember Weiss taking care of that King Taiju and other Beowolves coming in after us." The young woman started to frown as she remembered the ending of that fight.

Weiss just placed a hand over hers. "We should go. The bullhead should be here any second."

"Right…" Ruby gave a small smile, thankful that Weiss was watching out for her but also wanting a bit of a subject change to rest her head.

Yang and Blake didn't question it and grabbed their bags, walking towards the meeting point of the bullhead, and saw that it was already waiting for them. Deciding that it was a long day, they all took a nap to rest until they arrived in Atlas.

* * *

Weiss got off the bullhead first, waiting for the others to get off before she walked towards the mansion. She sighed as she approached the door, already hating how she has to be here for work instead of being back in Vale, relaxing with her other family.

Just as she walked through the door, she gave a small smile upon seeing who was on the other side.

"Miss Schnee, welcome home. I know that you just arrived here, but you look like you could use a break." Klein approached her. He looked her over once and noticed how tired she looked.

"I guess that you're right." Weiss sighed and nodded at Klein. "I'll be back later. Take care of things here please."

"Weiss, where are you going?" Ruby frowned as she saw Weiss adjusting her cloak instead of taking it off. "We need to have a talk. A really long, overdue talk."

"I won't be gone for too long. I'll be back in a few hours." Weiss looked at Ruby as she made her way towards the door then paused. "Though I suppose you're right. I know a private place."

"Great!" Ruby grinned then rushed towards her side. "I'm not leaving your side while we're in Atlas, after all!"

Weiss rolled her eyes and offered her hand to Ruby. "Yang. Ruby wants to come with me for a walk. We'll be back soon."

Yang looked at Weiss for a moment then nodded. "Try not to get into trouble, and don't stay out too late. Remember what I said, Weiss."

"Who do you think we are?" Ruby pouted then followed Weiss, walking deeper into the building with her.

Ruby raised a curious brow when they walked down the hall and exited the door, seeing what looked like a garden area to her, and saw Weiss putting on the hood of her cloak.

"Weiss?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion and did the same, unsure of why Weiss was acting so strange.

"Ruby. Do you trust me?" Weiss finally spoke after a few moments of silence.

"Of course I do, Weiss! Why wouldn't I?" Ruby was growing more and more curious about what Weiss was thinking now.

Weiss took one of Ruby's hands and suddenly shot them into the air with her glyphs.

"Ah!" Ruby held onto Weiss's arm instinctively before her fighter instincts kicked in and jumped from glyph to glyph with Weiss, stumbling a bit once they got to the top of the hill. "Weiss… You could at least warn… me… woah…" Ruby slowly let go of Weiss's arm and looked over the horizon.

From the top of the hill, she could see practically all of Atlas. And if she squinted, she could see some of the people walking down the streets on the way home and kids having fun chasing each other. She could also see some people talking with Faunus while their kids played together.

"Weiss, this is amazing." Ruby smiled then turned towards her partner, frowning when she saw that faraway look on her face. "Weiss? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Weiss walked a bit and sat on a wooden bench, patting the spot next to her.

"R-Right…" Ruby sat down with Weiss and held onto her arm. "Weiss, why did you reject me before? Everyone kept telling me that you liked me... and you wouldn't easily step aside just 'cause Jaune 'asked' me out." She did the quotations motions with her fingers. "Did you think that I'd react badly or something if you told me the truth?"

Weiss sighed. "Tell me Ruby."  _It's now or never._  "What do you see?" She motioned at the city.

Ruby blinked, then looked around again. She looked at all the buildings and all of the people, then crossed her arms, thinking hard about what she saw.

"I see a lot of buildings and people?" She looked at Weiss, unsure of what she was getting at.

Weiss chuckled at her answer and shook her head, looking over the city. "I mean besides the obvious."

"Your home?" Ruby was trying, but she honestly didn't know what Weiss was asking her. "Weiss, my head's still hurting from regaining some memories. Just tell me what you're talking about or what you see." She sighed, feeling like Weiss is avoiding the main problem.

"I'm sorry." Weiss frowned and sighed. "What I see… is life."

Ruby raised a brow. Since when was Weiss so… sentimental? Was that the word she was looking for? But she stayed quiet and listened, not wanting to think too much and waited to see where her partner was going with this.

"Each light that's lit, each person breathing, every smile on their lips, tears shed from laughter, sadness, and even anger, I see life." She gave a weak smile. "It gives me something that I want to protect. Something that you told me about before." Weiss folded her hands together as she leaned back and looked at the sky. "And… well…" She sighed as she turned her attention back to Ruby. "If I can't protect  _their_  smiles… how can I protect  _yours_?"

"W-Wha..?" Ruby blushed as Weiss said that, processing what she just said.

Weiss was silent for a moment before continuing, hoping that Ruby knew where she was going. "The SDC… was not a kind place for years. Not everyone liked how it changed. After father died and I took over, I did my best to correct what he did. It was slow, but… I hope that everything changed for the best."

"Weiss… it did change for the best." Ruby smiled and moved closer to her, placing a hand onto her shoulder once she'd calmed down from Weiss's sudden confession. "You've done so much from what I've seen so far. Considering that it wasn't much, since I was just looking out the window from the bullhead." She tried to make Weiss smile again. "You've worked so hard. I'm…" The young woman stopped herself, unsure of how to really continue as she thought about how Weiss must've felt.

_What was_  I  _doing all this time? Weiss is amazing… She did all this ever since she was in the hospital and while she was recovering, yet I did nothing but forget all about her. The most that I've done was train to relearn my hunter instincts. Some partner I am… not knowing who she was while she was suffering here in Atlas all alone..._

"Ruby?" Weiss raised a brow.

"You're amazing, Weiss…" Ruby forced a smile and got up and walked forward a bit. She thought about it for a moment as she looked over the city. If Weiss was admitting how she felt and her insecurities, she could as well.

"Ruby?" Weiss tilted her head, unsure of what was going on.

"Weiss… I'm scared…" Ruby looked up at her partner tearfully. "I-I… after everything that's happened… and I forgot about you because I wasn't strong enough… I'm scared." She clenched her fists. "What am I supposed to do? I… what if it happens again? I… I don't want to lose you or anyone else. I-I don't think that I'm… strong enough for this…" Tears fell from her eyes as she admitted how she was feeling to her former partner.

Weiss frowned and got up, moving closer to the younger woman. "Ruby…" She hesitated for a moment then shook her head, wrapping her right arm around her shoulders and her left arm around her waist to pull her close. "Listen… you're the strongest person that I've ever known. You never give up on anything that you set your mind and heart to." Weiss ran her right hand through Ruby's hair so that her prosthetic hand didn't get caught in it. "You were always aware of what we were capable of, and never pushed us to where it was uncomfortable or to do anything that we couldn't do." She sighed and pulled back a bit so that she could look into the younger woman's eyes. "And you know what else?"

"W-What…?" Ruby looked into Weiss's eyes, getting lost in them.

"We have each other. Supporting each other through the good and bad times… and especially the bad." Weiss flinched as she said that last part and sighed, shaking her head.

"Weiss…" Ruby clutched onto Weiss's shirt, nuzzling against her shoulder. "From what I can remember… you were always there to help me. You always tried your best to keep your promise to me." She pulled back and looked at her former partner with teary eyes. "To be my best teammate ever…"

Weiss merely looked away shamefully. "And I clearly failed that promise… Leaving your side for five years, never coming in to check on you…" She gritted her teeth as she closed her eyes. "I don't have the right to call myself your partner…"  _Or friend._

"But… you still came back. It might've been a long time, sure. But you still came back." Ruby gave her a weak smile. "You always came back… or at least watched over me while you kept your distance."

"Don't make me sound like some strange creep." Weiss groaned a bit but gave Ruby a weak smile.

"There's that beautiful smile of yours." Ruby blushed as she said that and placed a hand onto the CEO's cheek. "What can I do to see that smile more often?"

"You certainly weren't this much of a flirt before you lost your memories…" Weiss blushed but didn't move away from her touch.

"Maybe… losing my memories of you made me realize just how much I didn't want to lose you…" Ruby bit her lip as she rubbed her thumb over Weiss's cheek lightly, tracing her scar. "And… I really don't want to lose you a second time so, Weiss..." She took a deep breath before looking at her former partner. "Will… will you go out with me?"

Weiss gasped in surprise when Ruby asked that, and bit her lip. Could she accept her? She already made a promise to herself to never let her go. "I… I have something to tell you before I give you my answer." She frowned. "As much as I want to say yes, there's some things that you should know about the SDC, and what… I talked about with Blake before."

"I'm all ears if it'll get you to say yes." Ruby looked at her in earnest, trying to hide the fact that she was a bit annoyed and jealous that she talked to Blake instead of her before.

"Blake's story might be the easiest to start with." Weiss sighed. "She asked me why I rejected you before. I told her that I didn't feel worthy of you." She looked away, guiltily. "You're too kind to everyone. Everyone loves you. Who am I to monopolize your love?" Gods, she feels so childish, now that she's finally admitting how she's been feeling.

Ruby just watched her, frowning as she held onto her hand.

"…What I've always wanted is for you to be safe and happy. As a Schnee, the Faunus are still unhappy with me and my family name." Weiss brought a hand over her left eye. "I know that you're strong… but if something happened to you because you're with me, the guilt alone would kill me." She gave a weak smile to Ruby. "I'm sorry… for rejecting you for my own selfish reasons… but I love you too much to let anything happen to you…"

"Weiss…" Ruby frowned and moved closer. "I do care for everyone, but there's only one person special to me in my heart." She wrapped her arms around Weiss's shoulders to keep her close and stared into her eyes. "You were the first person that treated me normally, as equals when we first started Beacon. Ok well, maybe you thought that I was a kid that got in too early, but after that you actually treated me as equals. That's all I wanted. I didn't want special treatment or anything. You were the best partner that I'd ever had." Tears started to fall from Ruby's eyes. "You're so hard on yourself… It's alright to be selfish, Weiss."

"I… I'm sorry… and thank you." She sighed and looked at Ruby. "Now for the other reasons… You already know that everyone hated the SDC from before. Now, not so much, but there are some people that still hate the company, and by extension, me." Weiss pulled Ruby to sit down before continuing. "Then there are a… few things that the SDC did that were…  _questionable_."

"Like…?" Ruby raised a brow.

"Blackmail and experimentations with dust." Weiss frowned and looked down at the ground. "Blackmailing isn't uncommon, but the experimentations with dust? Many people have died because of it…"

"Weiss…" Ruby frowned and placed a hand onto her shoulder. "What kind of experimentations do you mean?"

Weiss sighed. "At first… it was for medical purposes. Disinfecting, closing and healing wounds, painkillers… Basically helpful things that we have today. But then my father started to get greedy." She frowned. "He started to experiment with the dust to increase a person's strength, sight, speed, and stamina. Just so that they can work longer down in the mines." She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

Ruby frowned and took her hand.

"He'd take random workers that were slow and weak. Experiment on them for a week and see that the results made them  _better_  than the healthy workers." Weiss laughed at herself as she remembered how she felt when she first read those files. "Many people died. Over eighty-seven percent of the workers died. That's for  _people_  alone. The Faunus had a mortality rate of less than thirteen percent. You'd think that the Faunus would be better off? No. They were easily addicted and went through horrible withdrawals when they didn't have access to the dust. And that's not all either."

Weiss ran a hand through her hair. "There were many times that the workers complained about working conditions being too hard. And any pains that they had, Father had 'medical doctors' bring the workers to a private room and give them a drink. A drink laced with experimental dust. At first, the workers were just fine with that drink. Claiming that they were feeling better and that their pain and fatigue were gone."

Ruby frowned and rubbed her hand over Weiss's hand to calm her down a bit.

"It was an addictive drink. The more they took, the harder they worked. Sounded normal, right? No. That was how the workers  _died._ From  _overdosing_  on the experimental dust. And worst of all, none of the workers were  _aware_  of how they died." Weiss gritted her teeth. "From the reports, they were claiming how the other workers should've taken some medicine that the 'medical doctors' gave them. My father basically made an experimental dust that was addictive and made one numb to exhaustion and pain, just so that he could gain more profits."

"Weiss…" Ruby wrapped her arms around her shoulder to calm her down.

"S-Sorry…" Weiss took a deep breath and nuzzled against Ruby's head for a moment. "I guess I shouldn't go into too much detail with that right now."

Ruby nodded. "Later, I'll want to learn more. Just the basics, for now. I'm not going to reject you over this, Weiss."

"One last thing about the experimental dust." Weiss sighed and pulled away from Ruby. "…He also used them on Grimm."

"Experimented on Grimm?" Ruby frowned. "But… why?"

"Money. That's what it all comes down to. Everything that my father did, it was just to increase profits. He didn't care about the safety of the workers. He didn't care about the quality of the dust we harvest. I don't even think that he cared about the people's lives in Atlas. All he cared about were the profits."

"Weiss…"  _Was this the entire burden that she was shouldering alone?_  Ruby looked at Weiss, placing her hands onto her shoulders.  _These small shoulders, all alone for her entire life, shouldered the burden. She can't keep doing this. She's going to fall apart. She already seems so tired. Can't she let me help now?_

"I…" Weiss sighed deeply. "I'm sorry for all of this." She shook her head, hesitating to tell Ruby the last thing.

"Weiss, is there anything else I need to know before I give you my answer?" Ruby took her hand, looking at her prosthetic arm and ran her thumb over it.

"Last one. As the president of the SDC, I am expected to leave an heir behind before I die." Weiss sighed. "That was the main reason why I was engaged to be married before I rejected him."

"But you… you're putting it off for so long. The fact that you're telling me this again…" Ruby didn't like the sound of this. "You… they're going to bother you about having an heir, aren't they?"

Weiss nodded. "Exactly. They will most likely tell me that I should be married within the year and to produce an heir within the next five. Minimum." She rubbed her temples from the stress. "If I say no, they'll just let Whitley take over once he's out of the hospital, and they'll practically undo all the work I've done for the past five yea—ah! R-Ruby? What are you doing?" She blinked when Ruby suddenly lunged at her.

"Weiss… I meant it when I said that you're not alone and that we're by your side." The young leader shook as she held onto Weiss tighter. "Please, stop pushing us away. We want to help you. You don't have to shoulder everything alone."

"I…" Weiss hesitantly wrapped her arms around Ruby, nuzzling against her. "I know, but I just…"

"You're just being a dolt." Ruby chuckled as she pulled back and grinned at her.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "That's my line." She frowned. "R-Ruby... do you really intend to be with me after- MMMPH?!" Ruby firmly pulled Weiss into a kiss and pulled back a few moments later.

"Weiss. We're partners, and I love you for you. Not your money or name. And I'm tired of seeing you do everything by yourself. I want to help lessen the burden as much as I can."  _Just fucking say that you'll date me and stop worrying._  "We'll worry about heirs and the future after settling things with your brother." Ruby blushed at how forward she was being just there and backtracked. "I-I mean… now that you told me most of what the SDC did before… and I didn't reject you for everything after that… and I also gave you my answer, so… what's your response to my answer?"

The CEO stared at Ruby for a moment before she tilted her face a bit and gave her a gentle, shy kiss, then pulled away a few seconds later.

"I-Is that a yes…?" Ruby blushed, a giant smile forming on her lips.

"Yes, dolt." Weiss rolled her eyes as Ruby squealed in happiness and pushed Weiss onto the floor, kissing her deeply.

Ruby pulled back for a moment for air and looked into Weiss's eyes lovingly. "I promise that you won't have to shoulder everything alone! I'll do whatever I can to help you! You? And me? I know that we were partners before, but I know that we'd make a powerful couple together!" She smiled and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the older woman. "Trust me, Weiss. I love you too much to see you suffer."

"Dolt…" Weiss blushed but gave her a quick kiss. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As I was writing this... I realized that most of the beginning I could've put in last chapter... Hopefully this cleared up mostly everything between Ruby and Weiss.
> 
> And as I explained to my editor, been having a hard time with Weiss's "rank" within the SDC. I honestly don't know how that stuff work. She's the big boss, but at the same time she didn't want to be too controlling like her father so sometimes she does as the SDC wishes. Basically Weiss is watching her power, but at the same time if she kicks too many people out of her ring, then more work and rumors she a bad person and company goes under. Too many people = overrun Too less people = riot from lesser people kinda thing.
> 
> Thanks DreamingParadise14, Dying_Inside, LieutBrook, GrnDrgnzrd, and AngelAlabastro8197 for the reviews. See y'all next time!


	18. Ruby Prepares

Ruby happily snuggled into Weiss's arms, enjoying the warmth from her girlfriend and the view of the city. "Weiss… what's the plan now?"

"We rest today… then tomorrow we'll visit Whitley to see how he's doing." Weiss sighed, holding onto Ruby closer.

"Mmm…" Ruby hummed in acknowledgement but had a bad feeling for some reason. "I can go too, right?"

"I said 'we'll,' didn't I?" Weiss kisses Ruby's forehead, feeling embarrassed that she's able to hold Ruby in her arms and kiss her now. This was going to take some time getting used to being Ruby's girlfriend. "Well… I knew that you wanted to come with me, permission or not. Just promise that you'll behave tomorrow." The CEO yawned and nuzzled against Ruby's head. "Depending on your behavior, I might take you for a small little tour around the SDC."

"Tired?" Ruby looked up and kissed Weiss's cheek, moving so that Weiss was leaning onto her. "I'll behave… And we should go back now."

Weiss nodded and stood up, looking over the city one last time before setting up her glyphs to jump down.

Ruby quickly pulled Weiss into her arms, carrying her bridal style, then grinned. "Get some rest. I'll bring us down safely!" She grinned and jumped from glyph to glyph before Weiss could argue against her.

Weiss sighed and rested her head against her shoulder, closing her eyes to rest. "If anyone asks… you did this yourself."

"Yeah yeah, princess." Ruby was just happy to hold Weiss like this and practically skipped into the mansion.

Klein walked by and was alarmed when he saw Ruby carrying Weiss, but realized what was going on. He gave them a small nod and made a gesture for the young leader to follow him.

Weiss blushed when she realized Klein had lead them into her room and pretended to be asleep.

"Well Miss Rose, please take care of my little snowflake." Klein gave a small bow to her. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me. Have a good night." He then left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Good night!" Ruby smiled and laid Weiss onto the bed. "Weiss, your nice butler is gone now."

"Now he knows…" Weiss sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Weiss, go to bed. You're really tired." Ruby kissed her forehead, leaning over her with a smile.

"I suppose it has been a long day… What are you going to do then?" Weiss looked up at Ruby and caressed her cheek. "I swear if you say something like watching me sleep…"

"Unless you want me to watch you sleep, I'm just gonna hold you." Ruby chuckled.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Get off for a moment. I need to take off my arm and get changed for bed…" She looked away from Ruby.

"I-I'll help…" Ruby moved towards Weiss's left side and helped her sit up, taking her arm into her hands and gave it a small kiss.

"Just so you know… I don't want you to blame yourself for this." Weiss watched Ruby.

"And I don't want you thinking that this is punishment for not talking to us before." Ruby looked at Weiss seriously as she took off her arm. She was glad that the design was similar to Yang's, otherwise she'd be too afraid to break Weiss's arm and have another reason to feel guilty.

"You said that we'll get through this together now… Any problems, we'll be there for each other. Isn't that right?" Weiss used her free hand to caress Ruby's cheek.

Ruby leaned onto her hand with a smile. "Yeah… so don't hide anything from me. Please." She waited for Weiss to take it off then placed Weiss's arm off to the side onto the counter while her girlfriend changed.

Rolling her eyes, Ruby helped Weiss change and changed her clothes herself, then wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, pulling her to lie down with her on the bed.

"Since when do you just sleep in a loose dress shirt and shorts?" Ruby was genuinely curious, moving back a bit to really look at her girlfriend's new sleepwear.

"It's easier for me to change without…" Weiss motioned her arm. "And most days I'm just too tired to change… As much as I hate it, it's comfortable." She watched Ruby with curious eyes as she positioned herself to become comfortable on the bed. "You're not going to sleep?" She asked as she raised a brow.

"I napped a bit before we left and on the bullhead remember? I'm not that tired. I just want to hold you for a little while longer." Ruby moved next to Weiss and wrapped her arms around her shoulder and waist.

"Dolt. Just don't stay up too late." Weiss sighed, nuzzling against Ruby's chest and closing her eyes.

"Good night, princess." Ruby kissed her head and rubbed her back soothingly. Once she was sure that Weiss was asleep, she thought about the future and what they could do. But most importantly, what  _she_  could do to help Weiss.

Knowing her partner, Weiss usually doesn't handle stress well. Thinking hard about it, could they come out and admit that they were dating to the world? As much as she wanted to tell all her friends, she decided to wait and only tell a few people. Weiss would stress out too much from everyone demanding an heir from her and there could be people disapproving of their relationship. They needed to test the waters first too, to see how some people would react and let them get used to the idea of them dating.

Nodding to herself, she kissed Weiss's forehead gently. She'd only tell their closest friends of their relationship for now in the morning. Then she'd go with Weiss around the SDC when they got the chance, to see what she could help her with, at least a little bit. She only hoped that she'd be able to help Weiss, and not just give her even more work and stress.

* * *

Weiss stirred awake, feeling warm, and tried to roll over to her side. She felt a breath on her skin and snapped her eyes open, but slowly relaxed seeing that it was Ruby. This was real now, right? She can stop having nightmares about that day? She cuddled closer to Ruby for comfort, practically clutching onto her shirt to keep her close.

"Mmm… Weiss…?" Ruby stirred when she felt her grabbing onto her shirt.

"S-Sorry… I didn't mean to wake you up." Weiss looked up at Ruby.

"Don't worry about it." Ruby kissed her forehead and looked her over. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Weiss shook her head. "No… I just…" She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I've always dreamed of… us together like this. Waking up to see your sleeping face. I get up to get to work, but you just drag me back down because you want to cuddle." She chuckled when Ruby nuzzled against her head.

"Sounds like a wonderful dream. Are you glad it's real now?" Ruby grinned, but then frowned when she saw the look on Weiss's face. "Weiss?"

"I'm glad it's real now. For the longest time, it was an illusion to me." Weiss held onto Ruby. "I wake up and try to touch you, but you just disappear and… I'm brought back to that day." Her arm shook as she held onto Ruby's shirt. "Even before, when I was back in Patch, it happened sometimes and I…" She started to shake and breathing heavily. "I lose where I am. Flame, Amber, and Winter had to snap me out of it. Sometimes it lingers all day where it interrupts with my work and…"

"Hey, hey. I'm here. We're both here. It's safe." Ruby quickly held her closely and ran her fingers through her hair soothingly and kissed her forehead. "Weiss, I'm here with you. It's safe." She whispered into her ear and nuzzled her head. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you before…"

"N-No, it's not your fault." Weiss took a deep breath and nuzzled back. "I-I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Ruby shook her head and pulled back, sitting up and pulling Weiss onto her lap and rubbing her left arm soothingly. "It… hurts whenever you think back about that day… doesn't it?" She was being careful with what she asked, though she wanted to know more about what Weiss sees whenever she loses herself, but that could be a conversation for another time… maybe.

"Yes." Weiss admitted as she leaned onto Ruby and nuzzled against her shoulder. "Sometimes, it hurts as if it just happened, and I see you looking back at me… when I remember that day. That pain, fear, confusion, and sadness… it…" She stopped when Ruby held her closer.

"I'm not judging you." Ruby frowned, hating how much that fight haunted Weiss, and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry… Is there anything I can do for you so that you know that it's really me here, and you don't have to question it every morning?" Her eyes softened as she lightly massaged the stub. "So that you don't have to feel the pain…?

"It's not your fault. Just… be here and hold me. I'll get used to it eventually." Weiss sighed, thankful for Ruby's gentle touch. It soothed her heart when Ruby rubbed her stub.

After a few minutes, Weiss kissed Ruby on the lips as thanks for the little massage, and moved to take her prosthetic arm off the counter where Ruby had left it last night. "W-We should leave and have breakfast."

The young leader didn't like that there wasn't much she could do and sighed, dropping the subject for now. But she started thinking of ways to make Weiss remember that they're together, and that it's not just a fantasy of hers.

"Then see your brother in the hospital?" Ruby quickly moved to grab Weiss's arm and helped Weiss put it on. "Hey, Weiss?" She waited for her girlfriend to pay attention to her as they got off the bed and got changed for the day.

"What is it now, Ruby?" Weiss fixed her tie and jacket.

"About us dating… Is it ok if we only tell Yang, Blake, and Winter? I'm pretty sure that your butler knows about us." Ruby put on her shirt and fixed her cloak.

"Why only those four specifically?" Weiss raised a brow. She was sure that Ruby wanted to tell the world, but she was also thankful that she didn't want to tell  _everyone_  just yet. Though she was curious about why she was taking it so slow.

Ruby moved close to Weiss and took her hands into her own. "As much as I want to tell everyone, they're close to us. Limit the people that know, so this way we don't hide around and so that Yang doesn't get mad because she didn't know. I want to take things slow. To get used to us dating. And it'll give you one less thing to worry about until we've settled a few things. Does that make sense?"

"This is why you're the leader." Weiss gave Ruby a quick kiss then let go of her hands to grab her red scarf, wrapping it around her neck before looking at Ruby, seeing the curious look that she was giving her. "…If you're going to ask, I've been wearing this for years now, and yes, it's the same one you gave me before when we were at Beacon."

"And this is why you're the best partner. You already knew what I was going to ask and kept the gifts that I gave you years ago." Ruby smiled and hugged Weiss from behind, nuzzling against her neck. "Mmm… can I help comb your hair? I'll be gentle."

"Sure." Weiss smiled and walked towards the chair in front of her dresser. "I'm thinking of getting it a bit trimmed… what do you think?"

"But your hair is beautiful." Ruby ran her fingers through Weiss's hair and kissed it. "But I'll still love you regardless of what you want to do… Isn't it already a bit shorter than when we were at Beacon though?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I did cut it before. But I suppose you're right." She looked into the mirror and saw Ruby looking at her hair curiously as she combed through it. "I suppose I could tell you about it when we have some free time later."

"Promise?" Ruby's eyes sparked.

"I promise… now about breaking the news to the others…"

* * *

Weiss was nervous as she entered the dining room and saw that Yang, Blake, and Winter were already seated.

"You're up early. We didn't think that you'd be able to get up past nine this morning." Yang teased them.

Weiss just ignored her and took her seat and Ruby sat next to her.

"Woah, being ignored by the ice queen  _and_  my sister?" Yang placed a hand over her heart.

"Do you have something to say to us?" Winter knew her sister well and looked at her.

"Thank you, Winter." Weiss looked at Ruby, still feeling nervous about telling them.

Ruby smiled and took her hand. "We have something to tell you three and it only stays between us." She looked at them seriously.

"What is it, Ruby? You can tell us." Blake nodded.

"We're dating." Ruby squeezed Weiss's hand.

The room was silent for a moment until Klein came in with their breakfast, placing the food in front of everyone before leaving.

"Uh… no reaction?" Ruby raised a brow, more surprised by how silent they were. She was expecting something from Yang at the very least.

"Weiss asked me for permission to date you yesterday, so I expected it." Yang grinned.

"I didn't specifically ask for your permission!" Weiss blushed. "I just said that I planned on confessing! You just said that you'd give me your permission before I finished talking!"

"We certainly didn't expect you to come out and say it, though." Winter took a sip of her coffee.

"Even if you didn't say anything, we'd eventually figure it out." Blake smiled at them.

Ruby merely blushed and looked down at the food in front of her. "So… we're really obvious…?"

"Pretty much. We knew that you two have liked each other since Beacon." Yang narrowed her eyes at them.

Weiss flinched and frowned, looking down at her food while Ruby gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

Blake elbowed Yang's side then cleared her throat. "So… what are you two planning on doing today? Winter told us that she's going to visit Whitley, so I assume that you'll be going with her?"

"That's right." Weiss nodded. As much as she didn't like him, he's still the only blood family she has left besides Winter, and they still haven't heard any news about the location of their mother.

"What's the plan after that?" Yang bit into her food then looked at Winter and Weiss. "What are you even going to talk to Whitley about?"

Weiss sighed and Ruby frowned, not liking how she was already starting to get stressed.

"I'll be ok, Ruby." Weiss gave her a loving look then looked at Yang. "We have to clear some things up about the SDC to him. Mostly about how it's changed and see if he'll be willing to work with us." She frowned, having a feeling that he'll be against them. "After that… I'll see how Winter ran the SDC. I'm curious to see what you did." She looked at Winter who merely chuckled.

"I merely did what you would've done. Just slightly more efficient so that I wouldn't have to be hounded to be home by certain times by your aids."

"Aids?" Blake and Ruby questioned.

"Flame, right? That Faunus bodyguard?" Yang raided a brow. "Is he still a smart ass like before?"

Weiss and Winter merely laughed. "If you had come with a proper notice before, he would've treated you better." Winter chuckled. "I'll let him know that you're around. As long as you don't interrupt his job, he'll treat you better this time."

" _This_  time?" Yang huffed.

"Thank you for the offer, Winter, but Yang and I will be going around Atlas." Blake placed a hand over her arm. "I'd like to personally see how Atlas has changed. You know, without anyone from the SDC around to possibly put people on edge."

"Just in case, show them our team picture if you ever run into trouble." Weiss gave Blake a small smile, nervous about whether her Faunus teammate would be treated with respect or not.

"I'm sure that we'll be alright." Yang wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulder. "Take care of things with the SDC. We're still your friends even if you're a workaholic that avoids telling us your problems."

Weiss frowned and was about to retort that, but Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss. "She has me, so she's not hiding anything anymore." Ruby then stuck her tongue out at her sister, blushing when Weiss turned her head and kissed her.

"Come on, dolt. Finish your food, then we can leave. You wanted to look around the SDC, did you not? The faster we finish our business with Whitley, the faster we can tour around the SDC." Weiss cut a piece of her breakfast and waved it in front of Ruby.

"R-Right." Ruby blushed harder when she heard Yang snickering and took a bite from Weiss's offered piece, then went back to her seat to finish eating quickly.

"It's like you two are married already." Yang snickered while grinning.

Blake chuckled and caught the look Weiss gave her, causing her to look away and finish her food.

"I apologize, but I should go see Whitley now." Weiss looked at Winter and Ruby. "Shall we go now?"

"Of course." Winter nodded, wiping her mouth as she stood up.

"Mph mumin' moo!" Ruby quickly stuffed the rest of the food into her mouth as she got up.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she wiped Ruby's mouth. "Finish your food before talking, dolt." She then looked at the bumblebee duo. "Please enjoy your time within the city today. Remember, if you run into any trouble, you can use my name and show them our old photo to prove that we are teammates."

"And here we thought that you didn't want to throw your name around so willy-nilly?" Blake smirked.

"Just this  _once_ , I'll allow it." Weiss rolled her eyes then mouthed 'good luck' before leaving with Winter, with Ruby zipping right by her side and taking care not to be too close and arouse suspicion to those outside their little group.

"…Ruby's not gonna last a week." Yang started, grinning as she finished her food.

"It's Ruby. She's the one that stated it. At least give her a month." Blake smiled at her then finished as well, getting up. "Shall we start window shopping? Weiss said that it would be safe."

"Nah uh. We agreed that we'd stay together and check the city out together." Yang got up as well, waving at Klein on the way out. "Thanks for the grub! It was really good!"

"Any friends of Miss Schnee are always welcome." Klein bowed to them as they left.

"So… where do you want to head to first?" Yang grinned.

"Well…" Blake thought about it.

* * *

Weiss stared out the limo, thinking of what Whitley might say and what she could say back to him. How could she even open up to him? Would he even open up to her? He was close to their father, after all. How much of their father's influence got to him? What if-

Weiss snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Ruby's lips upon her own and blushed madly. "Gah! W-What happened to keeping our relationship hidden?!"

"I uh…" Ruby blushed.

"I asked her to calm you down, Weiss. You were thinking too hard and she was trying to get your attention for the past few minutes." Winter chuckled. "I suggested that she'd give you a prince kiss. It seemed to work."

"You two…" Weiss groaned and covered her head with her hand and peeked at Ruby. "W-What is it though?"

"I… uh… well…" Ruby bit her lip then looked at Weiss. "Is there anything I can do to help? Is your brother really that bad? I survived being with Winter…" She then turned towards the older Schnee. "Er… not that I mean that in a  _bad_  way! I just mean I literally know next to  _nothing_  about your brother. Or your mother, and I respect that you don't want to talk about your family that much but I'm really, really curious abou-"

This time Weiss gave Ruby a kiss on the lips to calm her down.

"You're rambling again." Weiss blushed as she pulled away. "And… I suppose you're right. I never talked too much about my family back when we were at Beacon… or hardly at all. The most you'd know is about our father, but even then those stories aren't really…  _enjoyable to_  hear. Not to mention, most of it is based on rumors on the news." She sighed.

"R-Right…" Ruby mumbled and looked between the Schnee sisters. "So… what should I know about Whitley?"

Weiss frowned. "Admittedly, there's not… much to really tell you. He idolized father and did everything that father wished for him to do." She shook her head.

"So basically, think of him as a mini version of your father? Got it." Ruby nodded.

"Weiss." Winter waited for her sister to look at her. "Whitley actually woke up a week after you went back to Vale. I only informed you of this now because he needed some time to recover before he could speak properly."

"I understand. Why waste time with Whitley when he cannot even communicate with us?" Weiss frowned. As cold as it sounded, how could she even  _talk_  with her younger brother if he just woke up? He needed a bit of time to recover after all before visitors were allowed to see him. "I believe I was busy training with Ruby that week as well."

"Oh yeah… 'cause of that Flora-Sleep Grimm…" Ruby took Weiss's hand. "You still saved us in time. Thank you."

"I didn't do much…" Weiss blushed. "By the time that I found you and the others, you were being attacked by Jade and Grey."

Ruby blinked. "But… weren't you the one that told me to… remember you? You helped me break out of their spell…" Was it not Weiss that helped her?

"Hmm… maybe you subconsciously remembered Weiss, and it helped you break out of the spell." Winter theorized. "But either way, Ruby." She looked at her seriously. "You should wait outside while we talk with Whitley. We have some… family matters to speak with him about after all. Even though you are dating Weiss, he will most likely not acknowledge you."

"But I…" Ruby sighed then nodded. "I'll wait outside." She then narrowed her eyes. "But if he says something mean to Weiss, I can't make any promises."

Winter gave her a smile. "Thank you."

"…I'm right here you two." Weiss pouted and held onto Ruby's hand.

"Don't worry, Weiss! I promise that I'll behave, but remember." Ruby kissed her hand. "I'll always be there for you."

"Thank you." Weiss smiled then looked out the window. "We're here. Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the wait, real life got annoying. The next couple chapters were... interesting to write.
> 
> Thanks AngelAlabastro8197, LieutBrook, GrnDrgnzrd, LavendurX, and IanAlphaAxe for the reviews~ See y'all next time!


	19. Ruby Helps

Weiss bit her lip, having an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach as she entered the hospital.

"Weiss?" Ruby was worried about her and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Should I be with you when you see Whitley?"

"I'll be fine." Weiss waved her off. "Thank you for the offer though."

Ruby pouted, still worried about her girlfriend. "Just let me know, ok?"

"Right… Go get some cookies or something. We'll call for you if you're needed." Weiss gave her a small smile and some lien.

"See you soon, Weiss. Good luck." Ruby smiled, giving her girlfriend a quick hug then giving Winter a look before leaving.

"Alright… how much has Whitley been told since he woke up?" Weiss sighed, knowing that she should've asked that before they left the mansion, but she didn't want Ruby worrying about every little thing.

"He knows that you're the new head of the SDC, and he knows that you pulled out the Faunus workers from the mines, moved them to work in different places, and replaced them with Atlas machinery." Winter walked with Weiss, taking their time in case Weiss had any more questions. "He has been… wanting to speak with you about everything that's happened. He was just recently able to speak proper words the other day."

Weiss grimaced and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not even talking with him yet and I'm already getting a headache, knowing just what he's going to say about that."

"I must apologize, Weiss…" Winter looked down. "I must admit that I was… hesitant about your plans with the mines. I did not expect it to go as well as it did. I also did not expect that to be the first thing that you changed."

"Faunus are just as much people as we are. Without them, we wouldn't have as much dust as we do now, but that doesn't mean that we can overwork them to death." Weiss shook her head. "And I refuse to become like father." She clenched her fists, fearing that part of her will become like him in the future.

Winter placed her hand onto Weiss's shoulder. "You won't. I'm sure that Ruby will keep you from becoming like him."

"I hope that you're right…" Weiss genuinely was worried that she'd make Ruby suffer, like how Jacques had made Willow suffer.

Just the thought of Ruby leaving her broke her heart. Shaking those thoughts out of her head, and making a mental note to speak with Ruby about that, she took a deep breath and looked at the door to Whitley's room once they arrived. She knocked on the door three times before walking inside.

There she saw Whitley laying on the bed and staring out the window.

"It's nice to see that you're awake, Whitley." Weiss looked at her younger brother.

Winter stood next to her. "How are you feeling? Still exhausted from the medication?"

"Father… Those damn good for nothing Faunus…" Whitley mumbled, then turned to see Weiss. He clenched the bed sheets and coughed. "What's wrong with you?! How could you allow such…  _trash_  to work  _with_  us?! We're above them! They're good for nothing animals that killed our father!"

_There it is. Not even a 'hello.' This is going to be exhausting._ "True. They killed father." Weiss started slowly but looked at him seriously. "But they wouldn't have killed him if he were a decent human." She steeled herself, knowing how Whitley was going to react now.

"And now you're  _speaking_  like them?!" Whitley was horrified that this was his sister, the new head of the SDC, that he was talking to.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" The CEO clenched her fists as she looked at her younger brother.

"Know what?! That these low class  _animals_  corrupted your mind?!"

Weiss practically slammed her hands against the bed before taking a deep breath. "Crystal, Sapphire, Ebony, Scarlet, Forrest, Snow, Tiger, Leona, Jasmine, Frost, Violet, Jet, Nicole, Ash, Gin, Kinro, Storm…" Her voice cracked.

Winter frowned as she placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder to help calm her down.

"Sakura, Rosa, Night, Iris…" Weiss was struggling to stop the tears from forming. "All of them… That's not even  _half_  of them, but because of how father ran the SDC… They died!" She glared at Whitley. "Because I took over the company… they all tried to help me recreate it. They were caught in the crossfire." Her fists started to shake. "If they didn't follow me, they would've lived. But because they were involved with me, they died. All because we tried to recreate the SDC, the imperfect, moral-grey company that he ran into the ground!"

Whitley merely scoffed. "What's the big deal? People are always sacrificed for the greater good."

"Sacrificed? Is that all everyone is to you and father? Just pawns to sacrifice when they aren't needed anymore?" Weiss glared at her younger brother. "You would never be able to understand. No… You both and the SDC don't want to understand the value of each and every person's lives!"

Silence filled the room for a few minutes, Weiss trying to control her emotions while Whitley crossed his arms and wondered why his sister was getting so emotional over losing a few people for the sake of profits.

"You may be too young to know, Whitley, or maybe you're still under father's control, but you'll change your mind once you see how the SDC has changed." Winter shook her head.

"Hmph, I don't need to see what damage our good-for-nothing sister has done. I know that our company's name is ruined!" Whitley huffed. "All thanks to you siding with those…  _those monsters_!"

"You… The Faunus are not the monsters." Weiss gritted her teeth and glared at him. " _We_ are." She then left the room, needing fresh air to clear her head.

Winter frowned as Weiss left then looked at Whitley. "You'll see with your own eyes that father's ways weren't as perfect as you think they were. We'll see you next time." With that, Whitley was left alone.

"I'm not wrong… You both are." He mumbled, gripping the bed sheets. "Right… father?"

* * *

Ruby was on her way towards Whitley's room, having a nagging feeling that something was wrong, and frowned seeing Weiss leaving Whitley's room. "Weiss?"

Weiss wiped her face but still refused to look at Ruby. "I'm fine. We'll go in a moment. I need to use the bathroom." She walked by her partner and towards the bathroom.

Ruby frowned, knowing that Weiss was upset, and looked at Whitley's room. She passed by Winter and gave her a small smile. Winter gave her a sigh before putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. That was everything that she needed to know before stomping into the room. She shut the door and saw that she was in the room alone with him.  _Perfect_.

They stared at each other for a moment, the younger man unsure of who she was. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"You're a little shit, you know that?" Ruby spat as she clenched her fists.

"How dare you speak to me like that?!" Whitley glared at her.

"And how dare  _you_ , making Weiss cry!" Ruby took a step forward, anger clear within her eyes. She didn't know what happened, but there was only one reason why Weiss would be upset. Why she would cry. Whitley said something to her.

"Her? Cry? Emotions do not exist within our family." Whitley scoffed.

"And I'll have  _you_  know that Weiss  _does_  have a heart!" Ruby glared at him. Wasn't he her little brother?! For Oum's sake, weren't there any other decent family members that Weiss had besides Winter and Klein? No wonder Weiss was so distant from everyone! She did figure that out before and during the car ride over, but still! Actually experiencing it had a whole different feeling.

"If she does have a heart, she would've felt something when father died." Whitley rolled his eyes.

' _At least the way they roll their eyes runs in the family_.' Ruby noted. Shaking that thought out of her head, that was twice now. "How dare you dismiss Weiss as if she's trash!"

"That's because she is!" Whitley glared at Ruby. "What do you  _know_  about her?! Nothing!"

"I know that she's been trying so hard for the last five years… No, even  _longer_  to rebuild the SDC to how it is today, and what do you do? Berate her for everything that she's done. Dismiss all of her hard work and effort! She'd been trying so hard to fix what your dumb jackass of a father did! Can't you see how much happier people are compared to before?!" Ruby moved towards the side of the bed and grabbed his shirt, glaring at him. "Or are you too blinded by your father that you can't see past the fear that he instilled into you?"

"Nurse! This barbarian is going to kill me!" Whitley cried, trying to get away from Ruby.

"Oh,  _shut up_! Just because I'm right doesn't mean you get the right to run away!" Ruby tossed him back onto the bed. She felt so worthless, but if she could at least help Weiss see how much she's made Atlas a better place, then it would be worth it. "Weiss is worth so much more than you. At least she didn't run away. She faced the problems head on. But you? You're nothing but a coward hiding behind your name and money."

Whitley ignored her and continued to call for the nurse. Winter came back into the room, wondering what was going on, and gave them both stern looks.

She looked at Ruby, then at Whitley, then at Ruby again. "What happened?"

"This barbarian is going to kill me!" Whitley cried, trying to get Winter on his side.

"I wasn't talking to you." Winter frowned when Whitley started talking. Just what went on in here while Ruby was alone with him for a few minutes as she checked with Weiss?

"I just told him what was on my mind. I should… go." Ruby looked at Winter, who looked back at her.

Winter nodded understandingly as she vaguely heard what she said earlier. "Weiss is in the limo, ready to leave now. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Ruby nodded then left.

Once Ruby was gone, Winter looked at Whitley. "Get some more rest. I don't expect Weiss to visit you anymore after this."

"That's fine. Keep them out of my room!" Whitley huffed. "Just you wait… Once I'm released, I'll take over the SDC and change it back to how father wanted it!"

"Say that  _after_  you've actually seen what Weiss has done." Winter gave him a look and left the room, hoping that he'd actually think about what they said.

* * *

Ruby moved as quickly towards the limo as she was able. Being in the hospital, she wasn't exactly allowed to run, after all. Once she reached the car and opened the door, she frowned when she found Weiss curled in a ball on the chair, hugging her knees close to her chest and forehead resting on her knees.

"H-Hey…? Weiss?"

"Ru…" Weiss looked up. "I-I apologize." She sighed and loosened up a bit. "I was just… thinking." She half lied and looked out the window.

"Princess, you know that you can talk to me." Ruby sat next to her and rubbed her shoulder and back.

"…I got into an argument with Whitley." Weiss sighed, resting her head onto Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby nodded and kept rubbing soothing circles on Weiss's back, encouraging her to keep going.

"He was saying that once he has been released from the hospital, he'd take over the SDC and undo any work that I've done. That because the Faunus had killed father, he'd make them pay." Weiss started to shake and Ruby quickly took her hand, kissing her head to comfort her.

"He's wrong. About everything. He's not going to take over the SDC, and he won't make the Faunus pay for what they did." Ruby frowned when Weiss wrapped her arms around her.  _This is more serious than I thought._

"I know… I won't let him… I won't let him take over the SDC. I won't let people and Faunus be sacrificed just for their whims." Weiss shook as she held onto Ruby closer. "I-I promised Blake… everyone will be safe. I-I… we're not monsters…"

"Weiss?" Ruby frowned as she rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.  _What does she mean by sacrifice? Who is she talking about not being monsters? At any rate, I need to calm her down. She's too agitated to do anything._  "Weiss, look at me. Please."

Weiss shook and slowly pulled back to look Ruby in the eyes.

"Who am I?" Ruby questioned slowly. "Where are we?"

"W-What…?" Weiss blinked. "You're… Ruby. M-My… partner and… girlfriend." She started slowly. "We're…" She looked around for a moment then looked at Ruby again. "We're in a limo…"

Ruby smiled when Weiss said that she's her girlfriend. "That's right. Do you remember what I promised you?"

"Promise…?" Weiss thought about it for a moment. "That… that you'll always be by my side…?"

"That's right. So if you're ever feeling alone or troubled, you can count on me. I'll be willing to listen to any troubles that you have." Ruby kissed her head and held her closely.

Weiss started to calm down a bit more and nodded, nuzzling against Ruby's shoulder. "Thank you… and I love you."

"I love you too, Snowflake. Get some rest. You're going to need it." Ruby rubbed her shoulders.

"Alright…" Weiss mumbled as she closed her eyes, cuddling close to Ruby.

Winter entered the limo, blinking at the sight but deciding not to question it. She knew that her sister needed some much-needed rest, and her partner seemed like the one that could finally actually get her to rest.

"We'll be going to the SDC. I'm sure that you'd like a tour and to see what Weiss has done over the years." She whispered.

Ruby's eyes lit up and nodded with a smile. "Thank you."

It was an hour drive, a slightly longer route as requested by Winter so that Weiss could rest a while longer before both women regretfully woke the young CEO.

"Weiss, we're here." Ruby shook her gently then placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"W-Wha..?" Weiss slowly woke up and rubbed her eyes. It took her a moment to realize where she was and she straightened up her clothes. "I-I fell asleep. Why didn't you two wake me?"

"Because you needed rest/you looked adorable!" Winter and Ruby responded at the same time.

Weiss groaned at the answers then got out of the limo. "Come on, I'll give you a tour while Winter tells me what she did all this time."

Ruby grinned as she bounced after Weiss, keeping a respectable distance so no one could tell what their relationship really was.

As Weiss went through the SDC with Winter, part of her was worried. Not because of how Winter ran things. She trusted her older sister enough with her life, after all. She was worried because Ruby had been uncharacteristically quiet and not asking questions about the place, especially when they passed by dust ammunition.

Little did she know, Ruby had been watching Weiss as she walked with her throughout the buildings. Sure, she was interested to know about the dust and what every person's job was, but she was more interested to know how Weiss handled everything.

The young leader watched Weiss and Winter's interaction with the workers, noting how uneasy her girlfriend seemed when she was introduced to them, and gave her a reassuring smile whenever Weiss looked back at her.

Once it was time to break for lunch, Weiss went back to her office. Ruby frowned and followed her in, pulling Weiss to sit down with her on the couch.

"What's wrong, Ruby? You've been quiet ever since we arrived back at the SDC." Weiss frowned, concerned for her girlfriend.

"What's wrong? Nothing's wrong. If there's anything wrong, it's how you still wanted to work, even though you're supposed to be on break." Ruby frowned. "Did you do this often before?"

"N-…" Just as Weiss was about to lie, she saw the look on Ruby's face. "Yes…" She sighed as she leaned back against the couch and Ruby rested her head onto her shoulder, holding her hand and cuddling against her arm.

"Weiss…" Ruby didn't like the SDC version of her. She didn't like the Weiss that spent five years alone. "I don't like it… Why…? You have workers here to help with the work… whatever it is you do." Just thinking about it, it made her feel sad and lonely. And judging by how Weiss reacted to seeing new people, she assumed that she worked alone constantly.

Weiss sighed and kissed her head. "I'm sorry… I… At first I convinced myself that it was for the SDC, because there was so much work to be done, and I couldn't trust anyone to do the job properly." She sighed. "But thinking about it now, I was just using the SDC as an excuse to keep my mind off everything."

Ruby gave Weiss's hand a squeeze, wanting her to continue.

"I… I admit, I should've talked to you and the team before when father called. I should've told you what happened before that mission." Weiss sighed. "I should've believed in you when you asked me out on that date. I used my promise to Blake as an excuse to run away from seeing all of you again." Her hand shook and Ruby only nuzzled against her shoulder while rubbing her thumb over Weiss's hand soothingly to calm her down.

Ruby frowned as she closed her eyes, just imagining past Weiss running the SDC. She imagined how Weiss felt and pushed herself to "fix her father's mistakes," as she kept calling it.

"…The SDC changed a bit. Not that much from before, but it certainly did change… right? Or should I ask Winter?" Ruby looked up at Weiss.

"Winter… certainly changed things… and hired new people." Weiss sighed. She needed to have a little talk with her about that. Sure, she left Winter in charge, but that still didn't mean that she could just hire new people.

Although the few people that Winter hired were on her watch list. All she had to do was say the word, interview them, and hire them. Seeing them work, it made her realize how foolish she was for not hiring them sooner.

Why didn't she just do that before? Oh, that's right. She wasn't as open as Winter. There weren't many people that she trusted, and the few people that she did trust? She avoided talking to them out of fear.

Thinking about it now and seeing how the SDC was run under her sister, things would've been easier if she just… asked for help.

"Ruby…" Weiss idly ran a hand through her girlfriend's hair. "What do  _you_  think of the SDC so far…? Please. Be honest."

"So far? The Faunus are treated better, compared to before. I haven't seen what the mines are like, so I don't have anything to say on that." Ruby thought about it.

Weiss bit her lip and pulled away from Ruby. "…Would you like to go to the mines in a few days with me?"

"Can we?" Ruby tilted her head curiously.

"There's… someone there that I'm sure you'd love to see again." Weiss looked away and got up.

"Really? Who? Wait a minute… Shouldn't we be getting some lunch?" Ruby narrowed her eyes at Weiss.

Just as Ruby asked that, there was a knock on the door. "Ms. Schnee, I have brought lunch for you and your guest."

"Thank you, Amber. You may come in." Weiss sat up properly and smiled seeing her walking into the room. "I assume that Flame isn't too far behind?"

"Did you need my assistance?" Flame appeared behind them, causing Ruby to jump.

"GAH!"

Weiss took her hand and pulled her next to her. "Calm down, dolt. I believe that introductions are in order." She motioned to them. "Flame, Amber, this is my… partner from when I was in Beacon and part of Team RWBY, Ruby Rose." She looked at Ruby. "And Ruby, this my bodyguard Flame Kurogane and my assistant Amber Odell."

"It's nice to meet you two!" Ruby smiled, still nervous around Flame from when he appeared out of nowhere earlier.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Rose." Amber smiled as she placed a tray of food onto the table. "I'm not sure what you'd like to eat, but I have made some soup for you and Weiss."

"Oh thank you! I guess it was short notice that I was coming here with Weiss and Winter." Ruby smiled. "You can call me 'Ruby!' Miss Rose sounds too stiff for me."

_Maybe one day it'll be Mrs. Schnee. Mrs. Rose? Hmmm… I don't want to let go of mum's name and I don't think Weiss wants to let go of her last name either... so Mrs. Schnee-Rose? Mrs. Rose-Schnee? Rose-Schnee has a nice ring to it…_

"Ruby? Are you feeling alright?" Weiss frowned as she looked at her, noticing that she was being quiet again. "Your face is red…"

"Yeah, I was just, uh… thinking about something." Ruby gave her a smile.  _I can't let her know what I'm thinking just yet. Now's not a good time. Besides, it's too early to be thinking that. And it should be something that we both should be talking about together, not just me._  "Don't worry, Weiss! Er… what were you saying earlier though?"

Weiss shook her head as she sipped her soup. "I was saying that after lunch, we'll be meeting with Winter about checking out the mines in a few days. I want to make sure that the machinery is working properly, but making sure that everything is fine within the SDC comes first." She took another sip of her soup then looked at Amber. "What's the schedule for this week?"

"Weiss, you just got back." Amber sighed and shook her head, getting out her notebook. "But if you must know, Winter has a meeting tomorrow that she can take care of herself. The day after that, we should be sending five shipments of dust to Vacuo and another five to Mistral."

"What's the content of Winter's meeting tomorrow?" Weiss raised a brow.

"About Whitley waking up and what it would mean for the SDC." Amber frowned. "Technically, you're the head, but since you tried to change what your father did, they would want Whitley to lead."

"I figured as much." Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not going to let them. I've listened to some of their  _suggestions,_  but this is one that I won't listen to. I don't even know what Whitley would do, but I assume that he'd just reverse everything that I've done so far and follow father's footsteps."

Ruby frowned as she listened to them. She didn't understand what was going on, but one thing was for sure. The board members of the SDC didn't like how Weiss was running the SDC and would do anything to kick her out of power.

How could she help her with that? Frowning, Ruby crossed her arms. Maybe there wasn't anything that she could help with regarding the board members themselves. Maybe around the SDC, there was something that she could help with? Or even at home, she could do something to help her relax?

"…se? Miss Rose? Is the food not to your liking?" Amber asked worriedly.

"Huh? Oh no, the food's delicious! I've just had a lot on my mind lately." Ruby chuckled weakly and ate her soup, glancing at Weiss as she was deep in thought. "And  _please_  call me 'Ruby.' I'm just Weiss's friend."

"Does whatever you're thinking about have something to do with Weiss?" Amber whispered to Ruby.

Ruby blushed. "W-What makes you think that?"

"Hmmm… partners from before, how you're looking at her… You're obvious about it." Amber giggled as she moved. "If there's anything that you can do… just stay by her side. That helps more than you'd think it would."

"O…. kay…?" Ruby raised a brow then looked at Weiss, picking up some soup with the spoon and hovering it over her mouth. "Weiss~ Finish your food before you continue to burn your brain cells~"

"Right." Weiss ate from the spoon without thinking, still lost in thought. "Amber, has Winter visited any of the Faunus that were sent home?"

Amber looked through her notebook then shook her head. "No, she has not. Shall I schedule a visit?"

"Yes, please." Weiss frowned, leaning back onto the couch with a deep sigh. "Seems like there's still a few things that we should do before I can fully relax."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here we have a Rose trying to help her Snowflake feel better and thinking about their future. Next chapter - Will Ruby get through Weiss? Or will Weiss just keep her girlfriend at a distance again?
> 
> Thanks LieutBrook, AngelAlabastro8197, GrnDrgnzrd, and LavendurX for the reviews! See y'all next time!


	20. Ruby Snaps

"Weiss…" Ruby placed a hand over her partner's, rubbing soothing circles. "Why do you need to visit the Faunus that you sent home?"

Weiss sighed and held onto Ruby's hand before looking at her. "Remember when I explained about the… experimental dust…?"

"About how it's addictive and has horrible withdrawals?" Ruby tilted her head.

"Correct." Weiss nodded. "I sent… some of them home to recuperate after being cleared from rehabilitation… Some were cleared to come back, and I've given them slightly different jobs until they're back to full health, physically and mentally, while others…" She sighed.

Ruby placed a hand onto Weiss's. "Can I come with you? As an observer. I promise I won't do anything."

"She can come. As long as she can keep her emotions in check." Flame nodded.

"I can't promise that if they hurt Weiss." Ruby pouted, causing Flame to smirk at her.

"You can be her sword. I'll be the shield. We'll let you know when we can visit the Faunus." Flame then frowned. "They still may not be happy with you. Do take care."

Ruby frowned when he said that and looked at Weiss, worried about her girlfriend.

"I'm well aware of that." Weiss leaned back after finishing her meal. "But it's still something that has to be done."

' _Has to be done_?' Ruby did notice that Weiss was working hard, but didn't think too much of it just yet, thinking that it's normal CEO work.

"Weiss, I have scheduled the Faunus visit the day after the Dust mines inspection. I figured that you wanted the earliest convenient time." Amber looked through her notes. "The next one would be next week, if you have something to do that day."

"No, the day after the Dust mines inspection is fine." Weiss sighed. "Thank you. Please let me know if there's anything else."

"Certainly. Now for dinner tonight…" Amber looked at Ruby then back at Weiss.

"There are two others besides Ruby staying at the mansion with me. So dinner for eight." Weiss nodded.

"Of course. Flame, watch over Weiss and Ruby please." Amber smiled at him and gave his head a gentle pat before walking out the door.

Flame huffed and flicked his ears before looking back at Weiss. "I'll take the bowls once you're done with your meal. I assume that you'll be going through with the rest of the tour?"

"Yes." Weiss paused then looked at Ruby. "Do you still want to finish the tour, or have you seen enough?"

Ruby shook her head. "Let's finish the tour. I'm interested in this place." A small lie, but she hoped that her girlfriend wouldn't notice.

"Really?" Weiss raised a brow. "We literally passed by a Dust machine that mixes fire and ice. Not only that, we passed by another machine that refines the dust for our weapons. Is there something on your mind?" She was worried about her girlfriend, seeing as she walked by there first, thinking that Ruby would like them.

_Oops. I was caught._  Ruby had to think of something quick. "Uhm… I was… thinking about you…"  _It's not a complete lie_.

Weiss blinked at the response and blushed, looking away. "I-I suppose I could show you around that part of the company again. We still have some free time until dinner and I have to get back to some of my actual work."

"R-Really?" Ruby's eyes lit up. If they went back to places they've been, she could try to pay attention to the dust this time. "Thank you, Weiss~"

"A-Any time…" Weiss stood up. "Shall we go now then?"

"Ok!" Ruby smiled and got up with her girlfriend, glancing at Flame as he walked to take their bowls.

"Is there something wrong, Miss Rose?" Flame raised a brow, unsure of why she was looking at him like that. "If it is because I scared you earlier, I apologize. I did not expect you to be so surprised. Weiss spoke highly of her partner from before. I thought that this would be nothing to you."

Ruby pouted as she looked at him. "Grimm usually don't sneak attack like you do! You're really silent! Maybe quieter than Blake!" She huffed as she crossed her arms.

Weiss merely chuckled at their interaction. "Ruby, he may be my bodyguard, but he also acts as my trainer whenever I didn't have much work to do."

"He trained you, huh?" Ruby looked at him again.

"If you would like, Miss Rose, I could train with you as well." Flame looked at Weiss who shrugged.

"Good! I challenge you to the right to be Weiss's bodyguard!" Ruby declared. "Winner gets to be her personal bodyguard!"

Weiss groaned into her hands as Flame raised a brow, looking between them.

"It is my job to be Weiss's bodyguard. I am more than happy to train her girlfriend to improve her fighting skills." Flame gathered the bowls and balanced them as he turned to leave, smirking when he saw the red faces on both his boss and Ruby.

"W-Wha?! I mean… guh!" Ruby was too flustered to speak.

Weiss merely sighed as she shook her head and took her hand. "Let's go. He's merely teasing you."

"R-Ri-Right…" Ruby didn't know why she was so flustered. Was it because she was still getting used to being Weiss's girlfriend? She didn't know, and just followed Weiss. This time, she paid attention to her explanations of Dust and how they supplied it for transport.

* * *

After a few days of showing Ruby around the SDC, explaining what each building did and being introduced to new people that Winter hired, Weiss kept her promise and walked towards the Dust mines with Ruby. Though Winter had a last second meeting with Ironwood and insisted that Weiss and Ruby go on ahead to the mines, and that she'd catch up later.

Weiss walked towards the mines and glanced at Ruby behind her. "…Ruby, I—"

"I won't get in your way and I'll stay quiet." Ruby nodded.

"That's not what I mean, dolt." Weiss rolled her eyes and was about to open the door. "Just… contain yourself… if you can."

Just as Ruby was about to ask what she meant, she walked into the building and saw… "Penny?!"

"Salutations, Ruby! It's been seven years, has it not?" Penny greeted with a smile. "Oh Weiss, the mines are safe for inspection. Nicole should be here within five minutes to accompany you."

"Thank you." Weiss nodded then looked at Ruby. "I'll… let you two catch up." She then left the building, pushing aside her personal feelings and went towards the mines.

"Wei—" Ruby frowned when Weiss just left her, then looked towards Penny. Maybe here she could get some information. "Uhm, I know that it's been a while and I'm happy to see you again, but uh…" How was she supposed to ask her?  _What_  is she supposed to ask her? It's also been so long since she's seen her robotic friend, could she even run up and hug her?

"Weiss hired me about four and a half years ago after she was released from the hospital, to lead the machines that goes down into the mines. Weiss has also pulled out seventy percent of the Faunus working in the mines and replaced them with machines, so that they could recover and spend more time with their families. The production of Dust, after replacing Faunus with machinery, has gone up by five percent. Is there anything else that you would like to know?" Penny smiled as she approached her.

Ruby blinked at all of the information that Penny was throwing at her, then smiled, throwing her arms around her. "I really did miss you, Penny."

"I missed you too, Ruby. Oh, you should go with Weiss. She has been acting abnormally whenever she visits the mines." Penny gave Ruby a squeeze and a twist before releasing her.

"Oh right, I keep hearing about it, but what was the 'Dust Incident'?" Ruby frowned as she caught her breath and straightened her clothes.

"The Dust Incident was when a splinter White Fang group snuck in and planted bombs within the mines. Weiss went in to deal with them with a group of people." Penny frowned and looked down. "Only Weiss and Flame survived."

"Flame? The bodyguard?" Ruby really didn't like this.

"That is correct." Penny nodded. "Now I suggest that you go find Weiss. She has strictly forbidden me from going near and entering the mines. We can catch up another time, Friend Ruby."

_Weiss forbade Penny from entering the mines?_ "Thanks, and I'm sorry Penny! We can catch up next time!" Ruby gave her a quick hug then ran out of the building, looking for her girlfriend.

Pushing the thought of why Weiss would forbid Penny from entering the mines for now, Ruby ran towards the entrance of the mines, barely catching Weiss in time before she entered.

"Weiss!"

Weiss blinked and looked back to see Ruby catching up to her. "Ruby? I thought that you'd be spending time with Penny…?"

"Nope, I'm not leaving you alone! I told you I'd accompany you for this, and now that I know Penny is here, I can catch up with her when things aren't so busy, right?" Ruby grinned. "Uh… do I need anything special as we go through the mines?"

"Not necessarily. Though… we do need to make a quick inspection of you. Just to make sure you're not bringing anything that can activate the dust from within, aside from your aura." Nicole stepped forward. "Oh, and to make sure that you're not allergic to dust as well."

"Will it take long?" Ruby didn't want to waste Weiss's time and was worried about her.

"Five to ten minutes." Nicole looked at Weiss, who nodded, then walked with Ruby towards the inspection building.

Ruby glanced at Weiss, who was looking out the window while leaning against the wall and had her arms crossed, while Nicole took her cloak and checked her weapon.  _Weiss… what are you thinking?_

"Alright, the inspection is finished." Nicole gave Ruby a smile and gave her cloak and weapon back.

"Great!" Ruby smiled and clipped her cloak back on and placed her weapon back behind the small of her back before walking next to Weiss. "So uh… how does this dust inspection work?"

"I inspect to see if we can transport dust safely in and out, as well as see to the mental and physical health of the workers." Weiss explained as she looked at Ruby, frowning when she saw the look her girlfriend was giving her. "W-What is it…?"

"…Is that really your job?" Ruby frowned. Thinking about it now, Weiss was doing jobs that didn't seem would be fit for the CEO to handle. Didn't she just have to deal with paperwork? Why was she going out checking on everyone and everything?

"As the CEO, it is my du—" Weiss started, but Ruby interrupted her.

"Weiss. Please don't lie to me. Is this really  _your_  job?" Ruby frowned.

Weiss sighed. "No, but I—" She started again, but Ruby just took her hand. "Ruby, it's fine. Inspections are nothing. I'm not  _actually_  doing  _their_  work."

"Weiss…" Ruby gave her hand a squeeze. "You have people that you can trust."

"People I can trust…" Weiss mumbled, lost in thought for a moment.

Ruby frowned and looked at Nicole who just shook her head. The young woman sighed and stayed quiet, following Weiss through the dust mines while thinking about it. Throughout the day, she saw Weiss trying to handle the jobs alone, even though there were people there. Was it because she didn't trust them? Or was there another reason? Her thoughts went back to what Penny said earlier.

" _She has strictly forbidden me from entering the mines_."

"What's that supposed to mean…?" Ruby mumbled to herself.

Unfortunately, Weiss heard her and looked at her with concern. "Is the dust talk boring you? I'm sorry. You can go back and talk with Penny instead." She turned to leave but stopped when Ruby pulled her back.

"What? Oh no! I just uh…" Ruby took a deep breath and looked at Weiss in the eyes. "Weiss, is there a reason why Penny can't come in here?"

"She's better suited for helping me  _outside_  the mines." Weiss explained as she looked at Ruby, raising a brow.

Ruby frowned as she looked into Weiss's eyes as she explained. "Why her specifically? And… why are you doing so much extra work? Personally checking the docks and mines…Visiting the Faunus workers at home… This doesn't seem like what a CEO should be doing."

"I… don't have enough workers, so I'm training the temp workers." Weiss ignored Ruby's question about Penny's specific job being outside the mines and didn't like where this was going.

"Again. You're dancing around my question and doing a job that's not fit for a CEO. You even told me earlier that you're not  _actually_  doing  _their_  job." Ruby stared at Weiss seriously. "Before you say anything, yes. I don't know anything about running a company. I'm just a Huntress. But as your partner, I'm seeing something that you're not." She squeezed Weiss's hand. "You're working too hard…" She paused, choosing her words carefully as she thought about it. "Because you're scared. Aren't you?"

"I told you that before, did I not?" Weiss looked away, feeling uncomfortable about continuing this conversation now.

"Weiss, I'm here. You can talk to me." Ruby frowned and tugged on her hand, making sure that no one was looking then kissed her cheek. "I'm not letting you run away from me. Not again. I said that I'll help. You're clearly suffering from…  _something_. I can help.  _Please_. Let me help… I really don't want you to suffer alone any longer."

"I…" Weiss frowned then looked away. "I… need to… I… promised…"

Ruby pulled Weiss into her arms, rubbing her back. "Weiss.  _Breathe_. You're not alone. I'm by your side. Let me in… let me back into your life and heart… please. I know it's not easy. I'm willing to wait. Just please… you can trust me. I just want to help."

"Ruby…" Weiss held onto her closely for a moment then pulled away. "Later. I have work to do. We can talk later…"

"Promise?" Ruby kept her grip on her hand.

"P-Promise…" Weiss hesitated but gave Ruby's hand a squeeze to let her know that she intends to keep that promise.

Ruby looked into Weiss's eyes before smiling and followed silently again.

* * *

Ruby was trying to hold back her tongue. She really was, but after the fourth Faunus they visited giving Weiss a hard time, Ruby lost it. She yelled at the Faunus family that was berating her girlfriend.

"Listen here! Weiss is trying to help you! Whatever happened to your husband wasn't  _her_  fault. It was her good-for-nothing, jackass of a father that did that to him! Weiss here is  _trying_  to help your husband and other Faunus that suffered like him! Stop blaming her dumbass father's mistakes onto her!" Ruby slammed her fist onto the doorframe.

"Ruby!" Weiss grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "I apologize for her outburst. I'll… come back again soon to see how he's doing."

"Miss Schnee." A child looked at them from behind her mother's leg. "Thank you, for trying to help daddy."

Weiss smiled and knelt down to her eye level. "It's the least I can do after everything my father did."

Not a moment after, the door was shut in her face. Sighing, she got up and started to walk towards the next house. She hadn't said a word to Ruby until after her visits were finished, and Ruby was silent on the way home.

"Ruby…" Weiss spoke to her for the first time since the Faunus visit. She sighed as they entered her room. "If… if it's too much, you can stay home and wait for me here next time." Weiss was worried about her girlfriend.

"No." Ruby shook her head and took her hand. "Weiss… You don't deserve their anger…"

"Ruby, as the head of the SDC, I have to make sure that the workers are well. It's my responsibility after everything that's happened." Weiss sighed and looked at her girlfriend, hoping that she'd understand.

Ruby looked at Weiss in the eyes. Seeing all the hidden pain, sadness, and regret deep within them, she shifted so that she was wrapping her arms around Weiss's waist, burying her head onto the crook of her neck.

"R-Ruby…?" Weiss blinked and wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulder. They were quiet for a moment until Weiss sighed, getting a feeling of what Ruby might be thinking. "Ruby, I… I know that I shouldn't be doing all of this extra work. I shouldn't blame myself for my father's mistakes. But I… It's the least I can do for everyone."

"Weiss, stop. Just… stop." Ruby pulled back and placed her hands onto Weiss's shoulders, looking her in the eyes as she forced her to walk backwards until she hit the wall. "You have people that you can rely on. Stop shouldering this on your own! I don't want to see you suffering or in pain because of this anymore!"

"Ru—" Weiss was surprised by her outburst.

"No! I'm not finished yet!" Ruby moved and placed both her hands against the wall as she stared into her eyes and continued with her rant. "What your father did, it's not  _your_  fault! It's not  _your_  responsibility to fix it! Yes, your father's a piece of shit, but you're your own person! You told me countless times before that you wanted to recreate the SDC, and I respect that,  _but_  you're working  _too_  hard! Weiss, we're your friends! Let us help you! From the few days that I've been watching you go through the SDC, all I can see is that you're just punishing yourself for something that you had no control over!"

Weiss didn't say anything and just saw how frustrated Ruby was with her and couldn't look away. She knew that she couldn't lie to her girlfriend with how stressful the work she's been doing has been piling on her now.

With shaking hands, she reached up and cupped Ruby's face with her hands. "Ruby… I'm sorry…" She sighed as she pulled Ruby closer to hold onto her for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.

"Weiss…?" Ruby frowned as she combed through her girlfriend's hair.

"I forgot how… scary you were when you're angry…" Weiss chuckled weakly as she tried to lighten the mood and gave a weak smile, then frowned, sighing. "I know that. I know that I'm working hard. I know that I don't have to do anything that you see me doing." She shook as she held onto Ruby. "But I… it's been a distraction from everything. For years…"

Ruby pulled Weiss into her arms and rubbed her back, coaxing her to continue.

"For years… when I thought that you and Jaune were dating… the pain of leaving my real family all this time… the stress from the SDC… everyone who died and was hurt… the only thing that I could really do was try to make the promise I made to Blake come true." Weiss wrapped her arms around Ruby, pulling her close and hiding her face into the crook of her neck. "No matter how much pain I was in… it didn't matter… It couldn't compare to what I'd done to you and the others…"

"Weiss…" Ruby nuzzled her head. "It's ok… it's ok. You've done enough."

"But… I promised…" Weiss started and Ruby pulled back to kiss her deeply to try and pull her out of her thoughts.

"Shhh… Weiss. It takes work, and you've done a great job." Ruby caressed her face and pushed Weiss towards the bed, laying with her. "Remnant wasn't built in a day. Sure, some Faunus and people are still not happy…" She frowned, remembering what those Faunus said to her. She was sure that if Yang and Blake were there with them, they wouldn't be happy either. "But… there are still other people that  _are_  happy. You need to stop and look around you, Weiss. Take your time. I'm here to help if you need it. You also have Blake, Yang, Winter, Amber, Flame, Klein… We can all help you. You're not alone anymore." Ruby nuzzled against her neck. "If anything happened to you…"

"Ruby…" Weiss turned towards her and ran a hand through her hair. "I…" She sighed and moved so that she was nuzzling against her girlfriend's hair, knowing that she was right. "I'm sorry…" She murmured as she buried her head onto the crook of her neck.

"Weiss…" Since they were being honest now… "Last two questions for now… You still haven't answered why Penny was forbidden from entering the mines…"

"I…" Weiss sighed. "She's your friend." She looked away. "Some Atlas machines… broke down while down in the mines… I didn't want Penny to suffer the same fate."

Ruby was touched. Weiss was worried about Penny's health after her secret of being a robot with a soul was out. "So you kept Penny out… because you were worried about her being in the dangerous mines? Aww, Weiss~ You do have a heart."

"Shut up, dolt." Weiss huffed, still not looking at Ruby. "You two were close, so I…"

"Ok, ok. Last question." Ruby giggled, giving her a quick peck on the lips as thanks for her consideration, then frowned. "You mentioned it once before but… Do you see yourself and the SDC as… monsters?"

Weiss flinched when Ruby asked that and shook, nodding slowly.

"You're not. You're not a monster." Ruby kissed Weiss's forehead. "You're a human." She kissed her cheek. "You're trying too hard and shouldering so much… just to fix another human's… no, a  _devil's_  mistake…" Ruby kissed the scar on her face. "If anything, you're an angel. You're trying to help people because of that devil… You're not a monster, Weiss. It's ok. You've done  _enough_. I love you."

"I-I…" Tears fell from Weiss's eyes as she held onto Ruby. How long has it been since she needed to hear those words? "T-Thank you…" She sniffed as she gripped onto Ruby's shirt. "Thank you…"

Ruby smiled and kissed Weiss's head, keeping her in her arms. She let Weiss cry out her pain and sorrows, everything that she kept in all this time. Ruby knew that it wouldn't be much, but as long as she stayed by her girlfriend's side, then all would be well.

* * *

The next morning, Klein knocked on Weiss's room. "Miss Schnee, it's time to get up." He waited for a moment before knocking again. "Miss Schnee, I'm coming in."

Ruby groaned a bit as she looked towards the door and was about to move, but felt something holding her down. She looked at the cause and smiled seeing Weiss still asleep and curled against her side.

The young woman looked at Klein, giving him an apologetic smile, whispering to him. "She's still asleep."

He smiled back and nodded, leaving the room without any other questions.

Ruby looked back down at her girlfriend, glad that she was sleeping. They stayed up late into the night talking. After some coaxing, it seemed like Weiss was going to let others take care of some of the responsibilities of the SDC instead of shouldering them on her own. Or at least that's what she promised. Ruby was going to make sure that she would keep that promise, and cuddled closer to the CEO.

"I love you, Weiss. You're not alone anymore. I promise that you won't be alone ever again…" Ruby whispered into Weiss's ear and held onto her closely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: ...I honestly came up with this chap title like 2-3 weeks ago when I sent it to my editor friend and was too lazy to come up with the last two chapter titles. I apologize for that. But! Now with this, we're now in the final chapters of this story. Probably about 3-4 chapters left, so stay tuned for those~
> 
> Thanks AngelAlabastro8197, GrnDrgnzrd, LieutBrook, and LavendurX for the reviews. See y'all next time!


	21. Epilogue

A month passed since Ruby had the talk with Weiss, and she made sure that she was taking it easier than she was before. As luck would have it, Weiss did less work, just as she asked her to, but the CEO still insisted on her Faunus visits to make sure that they were alright.

Ruby allowed the visits as long as she could go with Weiss. Weiss agreed to this as long as Ruby contained her anger. She didn't want a repeat of what happened last time, after all.

"Thanks for trusting me, Weiss." Ruby smiled nervously as she stayed behind her girlfriend.

"I understand why you were angry. I only hope that you are able to contain your anger this time." Weiss sighed as she shook her head.

"I'll be on my scroll talking to Yang then." Ruby pouted. "And I'll keep my distance. But the second that you're in trouble…" She motioned towards Crescent Rose.

Weiss moved towards Ruby and caressed her cheek, kissing her on the lips to calm her down. "Ruby, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself. Thank you for the offer though." She smiled at the younger woman and fixed her clothes. "Let's get going. The sooner I can finish these visits and my job, the sooner we can go home and relax."

"Alright, lemme see this mess- WOW!" Ruby squealed and jumped into a surprised Weiss' arms. "Ren and Nora are getting married! And they said that they're having it here in Atlas!"

"R-Really?" Weiss blinked in surprise and looked at the scroll to see the message.

Nora [08:12] Hey Ruby! I'm guessin' that you're up now 'cause of Weiss and off to work with her or something. But anyways! Guess what! Ren and I are getting married in a few days! I know it's late notice, but I wanted to invite you and your team to our wedding!

Nora [08:13] It'll be in Atlas. Before Weiss asks, no we're not holding it there 'cause we don't want you all to come back to Vale or Mistral. Ren and I have been planning on having our wedding in Atlas for a long while now.

Nora: [08:14] I'll send you the deets once we settle down and everything! TTYL!

"So Ren and Nora are getting married…" Weiss stared at the message.

"Yeah! And we're invited!" Ruby smiled as she texted Nora back, congratulating her and hoping to hear from her soon about the details. She glanced at Weiss, then asked Nora to let them know if they needed any help setting up the wedding or anything.

"Did something happen?" Weiss tilted her head, noticing that Ruby looked at her before looking at the scroll again.

Ruby shook her head. "Nope! Just letting Nora know that if she needed help, she can call us." She moved towards Weiss' side and held her hand. "Knowing you, you'd offer to pay for something like their wedding or honeymoon since you haven't kept in contact for so long."

"I would do no such thing!" Weiss lied and looked away. She made the mistake of glancing at Ruby, seeing that pout, and sighed. "...Maybe some flowers would be enough?"

"There you go." Ruby grinned. "Flowers would be nice. Maybe some homemade food. Oh! Maybe some baby clothes and items too!"

Weiss chuckled. "And you say that  _I'm_  the one that goes overboard? Wait, baby clothes and items? Is Nora pregnant?"

"Planning for the  _future_ , Weiss." Ruby giggled. "You're the one that's always telling me to prepare things in advance." She started to count with her fingers. "Having an extra charger for our scrolls when we're out on missions in case we forgot to charge our scrolls the night before, having some extra clothes and blankets in our bags, having some spare cookies…"

"Alright, I understand. We can buy some flowers,  _but_ …" Weiss looked at Ruby. "We should talk to them about the baby clothes and items. We don't need to give them unwanted items."

Ruby frowned at that. She quickly shook her head. This was about Ren and Nora! Weiss had a point, she had to think about what they could use now. Maybe within the next month at most.

"You're right. We can buy them some flowers and send them over when she tells me more details."

Weiss smiled and pulled Ruby close, giving her a quick kiss. "Can I leave that to you?"

"Of course! Just worry about the SDC. I'll let you know what Nora texts me later!" Ruby grinned as she hugged Weiss, nuzzling against her shoulder.

A few hours later, Nora texted Ruby just as she was about to go to lunch with Weiss.

Nora: [12:03] Hey Rubes! Me and Ren will be having our wedding this Sat at 6 PM sharp! Hope to see you and the rest of your team!

"Saturday, huh?" Weiss glanced over Ruby's shoulder to see the message and frowned.

"Didn't you have a meeting that day?" Ruby frowned as well. "One that you can't skip out on?"

"I'll try to finish it as soon as I can. I promise that I'll be there." Weiss thought about how to end the meeting as quickly as possible, then saw the pout on her girlfriend's face. "Don't wait for me on Saturday. Go have fun. In the meantime, we can think of what we can give them. How does that sound?"

Ruby gave her a small smile. "Alright."  _I wonder what Weiss really thinks of us though..._

* * *

Saturday came and Ruby sighed when Weiss told her to go on ahead. They knew that this would happen, but that didn't change the fact that they were still disappointed.

Weiss was up late arranging the flowers of yellow acacias and daffodils, forget-me-nots, and white clovers. Ruby told her to do it the next morning, but of course Weiss was stubborn and wrote a note apologizing that she'll be late and congratulating them on their wedding.

Ruby made sure not to mess with the flower arrangements and gave Weiss a kiss on the lips for good luck before they went their separate ways.

Team JNPR were saddened that Weiss couldn't make it on time, but were happy that she sent and arranged some flowers for them. Ruby, Blake, and Yang congratulated Ren and Nora on the wedding as they walked towards them after their vows.

Of course they all took some pictures, but decided that it wouldn't be as fun without Weiss, so they asked their photographer if they could wait for the group photos until the CEO came by. Luckily for them, the photographer agreed and decided to take some pictures of Ren and Nora before moving on to take pictures of people that asked for it.

After everything was settled, Nora was practically drowning Ren with cake while Jaune and Pyrrha were trying to help the poor man.

About an hour and a half later, Weiss walked in and found a secluded corner to watch over her friends from afar with a glass of wine. She managed to finish all of her work for the day and was ready to relax with her girlfriend and friends.

Ruby noticed her girlfriend watching them from the corner and quickly ran towards Weiss's side, wrapping her arms around the older woman. "Weiss! You finally made it!" She smiled brightly, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before anyone saw.

"I-I did. I finished all my work for this weekend, so they shouldn't call me for the next few days unless it's an emergency." She then smiled at Ruby. "I'll be able to spend it with you and the others without interruptions."

"That's great!" Ruby leaned onto Weiss, then blinked when she heard people cheering.

The young leader turned just in time to see a bouquet of flowers being tossed at them.

"W-Wha…?" Ruby blinked as she caught the bouquet and looked at Nora who grinned.

"It's a congratulatory gift! Congrats on getting together! Like finally!"

Both Weiss and Ruby blushed at that while the other couples laughed, glad to see that Ruby and Weiss had finally found their own happiness with each other.

"So much for keeping it a secret…" Ruby mumbled.

"It's fine." Weiss took Ruby's hand. "They're our family. It's better that they find out first. Isn't that right?" She smiled at her girlfriend and gave her hand a gentle kiss.

Ruby blushed madly at Weiss' sign of affection. She thought that the CEO would want to keep their relationship a secret, at least for a while longer than this.

"Hey, Ice Queen. I don't mind you dating my sister and all, but don't you dare make her cry! I'll kill ya if you do!" Yang warned as she cheered for them.

Weiss merely smirked and wrapped an arm around Ruby, pulling her close. "I have no intention of making her cry. You have my word."

"W-Weiss…!" Ruby hid her red face onto her girlfriend's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Jeez… you're such a flirt…"

"I have you to thank for that." Weiss placed her glass of wine down. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Ruby kissed Weiss' cheek before pulling away with a smile. "Of course. Sweep me off my feet, princess."

"Of course.  _Princess_." Weiss smirked as Ruby blushed and followed her onto the dance floor.

* * *

After two hours of dancing and chatting, Ruby wanted to go home with Weiss. Not because she was tired, but because she was worried that Weiss was hiding how tired she was from everyone.

"Weiss, want to go home?" Ruby took her hand.

Weiss raised a brow when Ruby asked that and was about to deny, but then remembered a special present she had within her pocket. "Alright. Let's go home."

They smiled and went towards their friends to let them know that they would be leaving, and apologizing for leaving so early. Thankfully, they all understood and gave their hugs goodbye, wishing them a safe trip home.

On their way out, Ruby took Weiss' hand and leaned onto her arm.

"Tired?" Weiss kissed her forehead and walked out.

"A bit, but I'm with you so I don't really care." Ruby rested her head on Weiss' shoulder.

"Good, there's something… I want to talk to you about." Weiss tugged on Ruby's hand.

Ruby blinked and tilted her head, wondering what she was talking about. Weiss called for a ride home and was silent the entire time.

"Weiss…" Ruby leaned close to Weiss. "You can tell me if there's something important."

"It… is, but not here. I'll tell you in a bit." Weiss gave a nervous smile to Ruby, holding her hand tighter.

"Hmm…" Ruby nodded and held onto her hand for comfort, resting her head against Weiss' shoulder.

Half an hour later, they arrived home and Weiss led Ruby towards the hilltop she took her before.

"Weiss?" Ruby tilted her head.

"I just wanted to talk and relax before we go to sleep." Weiss smiled nervously as she sat down on the bench.

Ruby hummed as she sat on the bench with Weiss, looking over Atlas. This whole place, Weiss lived to protect it and make it a better place. As a Huntress, she couldn't stay here for too long. Ruby fiddled with the box in her pocket for a moment, glad that she brought it with her today and wondered if it would be a good gift for Weiss or not before she looked at her girlfriend, who was looking over Atlas as well.

"Weiss…" Ruby whispered as she took her hand. "I love you."

Weiss blinked and broke out of her mini trance as Ruby said that, and turned to look at her. She smiled back and squeezed her hand. "I love you too."

"I have a gift for you." Ruby smiled as she moved away and pulled out a small box from her pocket.  _Now seems like a good time. Hopefully she'll love this gift, and it'll give her some good luck._

Weiss's eyes widened as she eyed the box.  _Is she…?! But_ I  _wanted to propose! I suppose I should wait just in case…_

"Weiss, as a Huntress, I might not be by your side as much so uh… I have something that I made." Ruby blushed as she opened the box as she revealed a blue oval pendant.

She pulled it out of the box and handed it to Weiss. Weiss blinked as she took the pendant, noticing that it was slightly larger and heavier than the usual pendants she had. This one fit into the palm of her hand.

"Is this? Lapis Lazuli?" Weiss asked as she was observing the pendant.

On the stone, it had both their emblems merged together, then she turned it around to see that it said "raison d'être" on the back. She felt small hinges on the side, only to realize that it was really a locket. She glanced at Ruby as if asking permission to open it, then carefully opened it once Ruby nodded with a smile.

Inside on the left was a picture of them, Ruby hugging Weiss back during their first year at Beacon, while the right was where Ruby kissed Weiss's cheek a few weeks ago and Yang sneakily caught them.

"Ruby…" Weiss smiled as she closed the locket and looked at her girlfriend.

"Like I said, as a Huntress, I won't always be here. Even though I'd like nothing more than to say by your side. I just hope that this gives you good luck and helps heal your heart when I'm out on a job." Ruby kissed Weiss on the lips for a few moments before pulling away. "But this is just a reminder that I'm always here for you. That you're my "reason de tree" or however you say it." She blushed when she realized she never asked Penny what "raison d'être" meant.

Weiss playfully rolled her eyes. "It's 'raison d'être,' first of all. And it means 'the most important reason or purpose for someone or something's existence.' Something… we both thought of." She mumbled the last part.

"Ooooh." Ruby blushed.  _Jeez, that Penny. I didn't know that she had me carve something that embarrassing but heartwarming. Wait, did Weiss say something?_  "Hmm? Did you say something?" Ruby tilted her head.

Weiss stared at the handmade locket that Ruby made for her. Ruby was always so sweet and caring, and her mind fell back for a moment to how she felt back at Beacon. When she was questioning whether it was right for her to monopolize Ruby's love like this. She looked up and saw Ruby smiling at her, causing Weiss to smile back.  _Take this chance, Weiss Schnee. Don't make this a repeat of last time._

Weiss wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at her girlfriend lovingly. "Thank you, Ruby. And… I do have a gift for you as well." She hesitated for a moment. She made sure that the box was in her pocket before turning her attention back towards Ruby. "I only hope that you'll love it as much as I love your gift."

"Oh? What is it?" Ruby tilted her head. She was curious to know what Weiss got her, then blinked when Weiss got down on one knee and held onto her hands.  _Wait, does this mean…?!_

"Ruby Rose, when we first met, I know that I wasn't the greatest partner to you at first. I wanted nothing more than to be away from you. It took me a long while to actually enjoy your antics." Weiss shook as she kissed her girlfriend's hands.

This was a big step for them. Were they ready? She didn't know. What she  _did_  know was that no matter what happened to them, they would always face it together.

"I'm sorry that it took me five… no,  _eight_  years for me to tell you this." Weiss averted her gaze, recalling why she didn't confess sooner. She convinced herself that she wasn't the one for Ruby and didn't take the chance of fighting for Ruby's affection back when they were younger. Now? This was different. She wasn't going to let her go this time. "I love you Ruby Rose. You mean the  _world_  to me." She blushed as she looked at Ruby's expression. She was glad to see that she wasn't being rejected…  _yet_.

"Weiss, I—" Ruby started when she saw the wavering look in Weiss's eyes, but was interrupted.

"I'm not done yet." Weiss took a deep breath to calm herself down and continued to speak. "You're always so kind and gentle, like a light that helped guide my way through the darkest times. Countless times you've saved me from Grimm and myself." She continued to look into Ruby's eyes, thankful that she still hadn't been rejected yet. "I… I hope that I can make you the happiest woman alive." The CEO pulled out a box from her jacket.

Inside contained a silver ring with Ruby's emblem as a ruby on top. When Ruby looked closely, she saw that on the inside of the ring, it also said "raison d'être".

"Ruby Rose… will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

"Oh my…. Weiss!" Ruby cried tears of joy as she threw her arms around Weiss's neck. "Yes! Yes! A million times, yes! I'll marry you!" More tears of happiness fell from Ruby's eyes as Weiss pulled away to place the ring onto the finger. There she could see a small engraving of 'Her Rose' written onto it.

"Weiss… I love you so much." Ruby sniffed as she observed the ring, remembering every little detail onto it.

"I love you too, Ruby." Weiss smiled, kissing Ruby's head, trailing it down to her lips and held her close.

Ruby smiled as she kissed Weiss back and rested her head onto her shoulder, keeping her fiancee close. She looked at the ring with a small blush on her face and nuzzled against the crook of Weiss's neck. "Weiss…~ I promise… no matter what happens… I'll always come back to you. You don't have to be alone anymore. I love you."

Weiss smiled and nuzzled back to her head. "Dolt… I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok, this took longer than I thought 'cause fluff and struggled with that proposal. Still sounds bad to me but editor and some friends kept reassuring me it's fine. Anyways! Kinda lied. It was a last second decision, but the extra chapters I was planning will be pushed back into another project. Hope that y'all understand.
> 
> Thanks LieutBrook, AngelAlabastro8197, and GrnDrgnzrd for the reviews! See y'all next time!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello! I'm trying something slightly different but hope that you enjoyed! I've had this idea stuck in my head for a loooong time.
> 
> Hope that you'll enjoy this ride!


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